Is the delta variant of the coronavirus worse for kids? Experts say there’s no strong evidence that it makes children and teens sicker than earlier versions of the virus, although delta has led to a surge in infections among kids because it’s more contagious. Delta’s ability to spread more easily makes it more of a risk to children and underscores the need for masks in schools and vaccinations for those who are old enough, said Dr. Juan Dumois, a pediatric infectious disease physician at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. Weekly infection rates among U.S. children earlier this month topped 250,000, surpassing the wintertime peak, according to data from the American Academy of Pediatrics and Children’s Hospital Association.

Israeli hospital directors have been expressing their frustration to Israeli media outlets this week that Israelis “who choose to play Russian roulette with their lives by not vaccinating are stealing the resources of those who vaccinated.” An example of the issues arising in the wake of those who choose not to vaccinate is the death of a 53-year-old Israeli man last week, who died due to a lack of ECMO machines. The man, who was not a COVID patient, suffered a heart attack and required an ECMO machine to save his life but no machines were available. Another incident that occurred last week highlighted this moral dilemma as precious medical resources were used to carry out a complex transfer of a young unvaccinated ECMO patient from northern Israel to Jerusalem.

A 53-year-old Israeli man who suffered a heart attack died last week after hospital staff members were unable to locate an ECMO machine for him since they are almost all in use by unvaccinated coronavirus patients, Channel 12 News reported. The man, who was not a coronavirus patient, was hospitalized in a hospital in northern Israel after he suffered a heart attack. His condition deteriorated and he needed to be attached to an ECMO machine to save his life. The medical staff at the hospital searched for hours to locate a machine but to no avail. Several hours later, the man’s condition deteriorated and he stopped breathing. Doctors tried to resuscitate him but were ultimately forced to declare his death.

COVID-19 has now killed about as many Americans as the 1918-19 Spanish flu pandemic did — approximately 675,000. The U.S. population a century ago was just one-third of what it is today, meaning the flu cut a much bigger, more lethal swath through the country. But the COVID-19 crisis is by any measure a colossal tragedy in its own right, especially given the incredible advances in scientific knowledge since then and the failure to take maximum advantage of the vaccines available this time. “Big pockets of American society — and, worse, their leaders — have thrown this away,” medical historian Dr. Howard Markel of the University of Michigan said of the opportunity to vaccinate everyone eligible by now. Like the Spanish flu, the coronavirus may never entirely disappear from our midst.

Chaya Leah Bergman, a’h, 31, of Modiin Illit passed away of the coronavirus on Tuesday evening, Motzei Yom Tov, in Assaf HaRofeh Medical Center in Rishon L’Tzion. Mrs. Bergman, who was unvaccinated, was evacuated to the hospital on Tuesday evening after her condition took a turn for the worse and she was struggling to breathe. She stopped breathing during the evacuation and the paramedics carried out resuscitation techniques which were continued at the hospital but unfortunately, the doctors were ultimately forced to declare her death. “We’re using this opportunity to call again to the public to vaccinate and to prevent this type of tragedy,” a statement from the hospital said. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

As YWN reported on Wednesday, Israel’s hospitals are overcrowded with coronavirus patients, and shortages of ECMO machines, ICU beds and staff means that patients’ needs are not being adequately met, leading to a high rate of deaths. According to a Kan News report on Wednesday evening, a third of COVID patients who require care in the ICU are hospitalized in other wards that cannot sufficiently meet their needs. Those vaccinated in other wards are attached to ventilators but don’t receive the intensive treatment ICU patients require, including the constant presence of staff.

In a tense meeting with Health Ministry Director-General Prof. Nachman Ash on Sunday, hospital directors warned that their hospitals are nearing a state of total collapse. The directors said that the number of coronavirus patients attached to ECMO machines is increasing and the demand is beginning to outstrip the supply. Additionally, “the medical staffers are at a breaking point, they’re working around the clock,” they said. Professor Sigal Sviri Sarussi, the head of the COVID intensive care unit at Hadassah Medical Center in Ein Kerem, said: “The vast majority of critically and seriously ill patients are unvaccinated.

Health Ministry Director-General Nachman Ash said last week that Israel’s current coronavirus wave is worse than all the previous waves. Speaking via teleconference at a meeting of the Knesset Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee, Ash said that the current average number of new daily cases is 8,000, with some days reaching over 10,000, and “that is a record number that wasn’t seen in the previous waves.” “We were in a clear downward trend a week ago but in recent days we’ve been seeing that decline stop,” Ash said. The Health Ministry confirmed on Sunday morning that the total number of coronavirus patients in serious condition has risen to 726, of whom 195 are ventilated. Seventeen additional fatalities were confirmed over the weekend, raising the death toll to 7,511.

Dr. Homayoun Sameyeh-Najafabadi, a pharmacologist and the representative of the Jewish community in Iranian parliament since 2020, said recently that there are 500 cases of mucormycosis, a life-threatening disease commonly known as the “black fungus,” in Iran. Speaking on state television, Sameyeh-Najafabadi said that the rise in cases stems from the use of corticosteroid treatment for COVID patients and cases have been documented in several provinces, including Tehran. “Black fungus” is a rare but serious infection caused by a group of molds called mucormycetes that generally affect those who are immunocompromised. The infection affects the sinuses and facial bones and can cause sight loss or brain damage. Black fungus has a 50% mortality rate if left untreated.

There’s been an increase in recent days in the number of pregnant and postpartum women hospitalized in Israel after contracting the coronavirus. As of Wednesday, there were 39 pregnant women and 24 postpartum women with the coronavirus in hospitals across Israel. Thirteen of the women are in serious condition, four of whom are ventilated and one of whom is attached to an ECMO machine. All 13 women in serious condition are completely unvaccinated. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)