8,000 died in the pandemic • Dramatic decline in vaccination: Fears of a 5th wave in the winter

October 18, 2021   

A dramatic drop in the number of people vaccinated with the third dose of the coronavirus vaccine is raising concerns in the Health Ministry. According to a report in Kan News this evening (Sunday), the Health Ministry estimates that another wave of illness is expected in the winter. A senior Health Ministry official told Kan News: "The low vaccination rate significantly lowers the level of general immunity in the country." It is estimated that the rate of booster vaccinations among 12 to 15-year-olds will be low, and so will the vaccination rate among children once they are approved. With the start of the third vaccination campaign, the goal set by the Health Ministry was to reach more than 5 million vaccinations - and the chance of reaching that goal is decreasing. Coronavirus projector Salman Zarka responded this evening, in an interview with Channel 13, to Naftali Bennett's comments at the government meeting that "the fourth wave is already behind us." Zarka said: "I would rather not use that word. When we came out of the third wave and declared victory - we were quite surprised with the fourth wave. This time we will be more modest. We will monitor the data, there are still about 400 seriously ill patients in hospitals, the morbidity still exists in the country, we will do it slowly and carefully. We are really far from a situation of returning to our normal routine, we will not impose restrictions when there is no need, but on the other hand, I think the morbidity is still here and still disturbing." Meanwhile, since the beginning of the epidemic, 8,000 corona patients have died - about a quarter of them in the fourth wave, when there were already vaccines, so the failure is glaring.