Israel has given more COVID-19 vaccinations than any other country, with more than 1 million people receiving injections – a rate of 12.59 doses per 100 people, new data from an Oxford University-run tracking site shows.
Why it matters: As countries like the US are lagging behind on immunization targets, Israel has given doses of coronavirus to more than 10% of its 9.2 million residents since it began administering the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine on December 19.
The big picture: Israel is on its third national lockdown, with more than 3,300 deaths from COVID-19 and 435,000 deaths. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the country “could get out of the pandemic as early as February,” as it delivers doses to about 150,000 people a day, the BBC notes.
- Israel has also struck deals with Moderna and other coronavirus vaccine manufacturers. Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are not covered by the rollout, which the Palestinian Authority has not officially requested, the Guardian reports.
- Israeli officials have indicated they can give the Palestinians surplus vaccines, and the UN-led COVAX initiative plans to distribute doses across the areas.
For the record: The US has administered 4.23 million doses, a rate of 1.28 per 100 people as of Saturday, according to figures from Oxford-operated Our World in Data, which measures single doses of the vaccine that usually require two shots.
- President-elect Joe Biden last week criticized the Trump administration for “falling behind” its goal of getting 20 million Americans to receive the coronavirus vaccine by the end of 2020. Trump blamed states for delays in distribution.
- NIAID Director Anthony Fauci expects to see an increase in vaccine momentum in the US this month, allowing health officials to catch up on the expected pace.