Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced in a press briefing on Tuesday that Israel is preparing for a new vaccination drive in six months that will most likely include children. “Prepare your shoulders and kids,” he said, assuming that the vaccines will be approved for children by then. Last week, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said that it’s likely a third dose of the coronavirus vaccine will be necessary between six and twelve months after getting the first vaccine, and annually after that. Netanyahu’s comments followed his announcement on Monday that Israel signed an agreement with Pfizer and Moderna for the purchase of millions of additional coronavirus vaccine doses for 2022.

The world’s fastest pace of spreading infections and the highest daily increase in coronavirus cases are pushing India further into a deepening and deadly health care crisis. India is massive — it’s the world’s second-most populous country with nearly 1.4 billion people — and its size presents extraordinary challenges to fighting COVID-19. Some 2.7 million vaccine doses are given daily, but that’s still less than 10% of its people who’ve gotten their first shot. Overall, India has confirmed 15.9 million cases of infection, the second highest after the United States, and 184,657 deaths. The latest surge has driven India’s fragile health systems to the breaking point: Understaffed hospitals are overflowing with patients. Medical oxygen is in short supply. Intensive care units are full.

Holocaust survivors experience lingering effects from the trauma they suffered in their younger years, increasing the chances of cancer and heart disease, according to a recently published Hebrew University study. The study examined the death records of 22,000 people who were followed from 1964 to 2016, comparing the death rates of Holocaust survivors from cancer and heart disease to non-survivors. Female Holocaust survivors had a 15% higher mortality rate and a 17% higher risk of death from cancer, the study showed. Interestingly, the study showed that the overall mortality rate of male Holocaust survivors wasn’t higher than non-survivors but they had a staggeringly 39% higher risk of dying from heart disease and a 14% higher risk of dying from cancer.

The last two coronavirus wards still open in Israel’s hospitals closed on Monday as infection and fatality rates continue to drop, Ynet reported. Israel began closing its coronavirus wards several weeks ago as the national vaccination campaign began to dramatically reduce infection rates. The remaining wards in the Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Hadera and Baruch Padeh Medical Center in Tiveria were closed and the remaining patients were transferred to the internal medicine wards. At the pandemic’s peak, three coronavirus wards were in operation at Hillel Yaffe. “I am pleased to announce we are closing down the last active COVID ward,” the director of Hillel Yaffe, Dr. Mickey Dudkiewicz, said.

As marijuana legalization spreads across U.S. states, so does a debate over whether to set pot policy by potency. Under a law signed last month, New York will tax recreational marijuana based on its amount of THC, the main intoxicating chemical in cannabis. Illinois imposed a potency-related tax when recreational pot sales began last year. Vermont is limiting THC content when its legal market opens as soon as next year, and limits or taxes have been broached in some other states and the U.S. Senate’s drug-control caucus. Supporters say such measures will protect public health by roping off, or at least discouraging, what they view as dangerously concentrated cannabis.

Israel signed an agreement with Pfizer and Moderna on Monday for the purchase of millions of additional coronavirus vaccine doses for 2022. The deals, announced by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein, include the possibility of purchasing millions of additional doses if needed. Also, the doses will be adapted to variants that may arise, if necessary. The announcement did not specify the number of doses to be purchased from each company but according to Israeli media reports, Israel is buying 18 million doses from both companies at the cost of about NIS 1.5 billion ($460 million).

New Delhi was being put under a weeklong lockdown Monday night as an explosive surge in coronavirus cases pushed the India’s capital’s health system to its limit. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said in a news conference the national capital was facing shortages of oxygen and some medicine. “I do not say that the system has collapsed, but it has reached its limits,” Kejriwal said, adding that harsh measures were necessary to “prevent a collapse of the health system.” According to India’s health ministry on Monday, Delhi reported 25,462 cases and 161 deaths in the past 24 hours. India overall reported 273,810 new infections on Monday, its highest daily rise since the start of the pandemic and now has reported more than 15 million infections, a total second only to the United States.

As the passengers walked a little dazed through the airport gates, they were embraced one after another by family members who rushed forward and dissolved into tears. Elation and relief marked the opening of a long-anticipated travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand at the Wellington Airport on Monday. Children held balloons and banners and Indigenous Maori performers welcomed the arrivals home with songs. The start of quarantine-free travel was a long time coming for families who have been separated by the coronavirus pandemic as well as to struggling tourist operators. It marked the first, tentative steps toward what both countries hope will become a gradual reopening to the rest of the world.

Ontario’s premier retracted restrictions Saturday that banned playgrounds and allowed police to require anyone not at home to explain why they’re out and provide their address after a backlash from police forces, health officials and the public. The pandemic restrictions imposed by Canada’s most populous province immediately ran into opposition as police departments insisted they wouldn’t use new powers to randomly stop pedestrians or motorists and health experts complained the rules focus on outdoor activities rather than more dangerous indoor settings. Ontario Premier Doug Ford ’s government announced Friday it was giving police authority to require anyone not at home to explain why they’re out and provide their address. Tickets can be written.

Seven cases of a coronavirus variant from India have been discovered in Israel, the Health Ministry announced on Friday. It is the first time the Indian variant, classified as B.1.617, has been identified in Israel. The variant was found in unvaccinated travelers who returned to Israel from abroad. The ministry did not specify where the travelers had arrived from. Coronavirus czar Prof. Nachman Ash told Channel 12 News on Motzei Shabbos that there is currently very little information known about the variant but it seems to spread rapidly and there are signs it may be resistant to the vaccine. There has been a surge of coronavirus cases in southern India in recent days, with a record number of over 200,000 people being diagnosed per day. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)