Since the beginning of the “third wave” in Israel, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of infants who have contracted the Coronavirus in Israel. While it hasn’t been proven, it appears as if this is due to the various mutated strains of the virus that have entered the country. According to reports in the Israeli media, the total number of infants who had contracted the virus as of November was 300. In December that number jumped to 1,526. In January, the number spiked even further and reached a total of more than 5,000. Currently, Israel’s Health Ministry is worried that there is a direct and tangible threat to the safety and health of children, as this is a section of the populace that cannot get the vaccine.

AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine does more than prevent people from falling seriously ill — it appears to reduce transmission of the virus and offers strong protection for three months on just a single dose, researchers said Wednesday in an encouraging turn in the campaign to suppress the outbreak. The preliminary findings from Oxford University, a co-developer of the vaccine, could vindicate the British government’s controversial strategy of delaying the second shot for up to 12 weeks so that more people can be quickly given a first dose. Up to now, the recommended time between doses has been four weeks. The research could also bring scientists closer to an answer to one of the big questions about the vaccination drive: Will the vaccines actually curb the spread of the coronavirus?

Likud Minister Tzachi Hanegbi said on Tuesday that the US will never attack Iran’s nuclear program and Israel will have to make a decision to either strike Iran alone or accept the fact of a nuclear Islamic Republic. “The United States will never attack the nuclear facilities in Iran,” Hanegbit told Kan News. ” Israel must decide whether it will accept a nuclear Iran or will be forced to take independent action to remove this danger.” Hanegbi added that past incidents have proven that Iran has a “very limited” capacity to retaliate against Israel. “It’s possible that in the future there will be no choice [but for Israel to attack Iran],” Hanegbi asserted.

Ma’ayanei Hayeshuah Hospital in Bnei Brak saw yet another pregnant woman whose situation deteriorated after contracting COVID-19. The family of the woman, whose name for Tehillim is Ruth bas Rivka, has asked that people pray for her recovery. Ruth is only 32-years-old and is the mother of five young children. She lives with her husband and family in the Chareidi neighborhood of Ganei Hadar in Petach Tikvah. Ruth is the daughter-in-law of Hagaon HaRav Shimshon Pinkus Z”L, who as well known for his Mussar sefarim, and who was killed in a car accident with his wife and daughter 20 years ago. After contracting the virus, Ruth was recuperating at home for a week. She bore some symptoms of the disease and mainly felt very weak.

Uber is bringing the booze. The mobile ride-hailing company said Tuesday that it is acquiring the alcohol-delivery platform Drizly for $1.1 billion in stock and cash. Uber expects more than 90% of the consideration to be paid to Drizly stockholders in shares of Uber common stock and the remainder paid in cash. Boston-based Drizly formed about eight years ago and delivers alcohol in 26 U.S. states where it is legal. Drizly says it partners with retailers in 1,400 cities to deliver beer, wine and spirits to customers through its mobile app. Upon closing of the deal, expected in the first half of this year, Drizly will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Uber. The companies said that Drizly’s marketplace will be integrated with the Uber Eats app, while keeping a separate Drizly app.

As Israel’s vaccination drive slows down in recent days, the Health Ministry announced on Wednesday that everyone over age 16 can be vaccinated beginning on Thursday. Health Ministry Director-General Prof. Chezy Levy told Ynet on Wednesday that the decision was made due to the recent decline in people showing up to be vaccinated, leaving vaccination centers almost empty. Coronavirus czar Prof. Nachman Ash said on Wednesday that hundreds of vaccine doses had to be discarded due to the low turnout since they cannot be stored for long once they have been opened. Additionally, there has been an alarming rise in the number of seriously ill patients in younger age groups, a result of the British variant.

Welfare Minister Itzik Shmuli (Labor) announced on Wednesday morning that is he is taking a break from politics and will not be running in the March 23 election. Shmuli, who joined Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s government to become a minister despite the Labor party’s promise not to do so, stated that he had erred in joining the government and he is taking responsibility for his mistake. The newly elected Labor chairman Merav Michaeli passed a proposal removing the party from the government and demanding that former Labor chairman Amir Peretz and Shmuli either resign from the government or leave the party. Peretz announced last month that he was stepping down as leader of the party, also admitting that he made a mistake by joining the government after promising not to do so.

In a first in almost 20 years, the United Torah Judaism party announced a rotation in leadership, with Degel HaTorah MK Moshe Gafni to replace MK Yaakov Litzman of Agudas Yisrael, who has led the party for the last 18 years. Gafni will lead the party and Litzman will switch places with Gafni and be number two on the list ahead of the March 23 elections. MK Uri Maklev will be number three on the list, followed by MKs Meir Porush, Yaakov Asher, Yaakov Tessler, Yitzchak Pindrus, and Yisrael Eichler. Registration for parties to submit their list of candidates for the upcoming elections to the Central Elections Committee opened on Wednesday. The deadline to submit lists is Thursday at midnight. Party lists cannot be changed once they are submitted. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

In the wake of the high virus morbidity in Israel and the resulting overcrowded coronavirus wards in hospitals nationwide, at least 15 ambulances transporting seriously ill virus patients were forced to wait outside hospitals for almost two hours before gaining admittance on Tuesday night. Ambulances were waiting outside Ichilov and Assaf HaRofeh Hospitals in the Tel Aviv area as well as Kaplan Medical Center in Rechovot. “If Israel ends the lockdown by Sunday, the significance of that is clear,” a senior Magen David Adom told Army Radio on Wednesday. “More people will require medical services and the situation will grow even worse.” “There is no real difference in the number of seriously ill patients today than prior to entering the lockdown, said Dr.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein held a live press conference on Tuesday night warning of lifting the nationwide lockdown too soon. Currently, the lockdown is set to expire on Friday morning but the prime minister and senior health officials are recommending that it be extended through Sunday night in the wake of the still-high morbidity rate and the high number of seriously ill patients. Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz has been opposing Netanyahu and senior health officials on the issue, insisting that restrictions begin to be lifted. Netanyahu said that if the lockdown is extended by three days, then another 200,000 people will have received their second vaccine doses and be protected against the virus.