Israel will experience a surge in virus infections this month as the economy is reopened but will likely see less serious cases, according to Prof. Eran Segal, who developed Weizmann Institute’s prediction model for the spread of COVID in Israel. “Already in January, we said that March will see a rise in infections, but due to the vaccines, we will see less serious patients,” Segal told Ynet. Segal noted that a report by the Coronavirus National Information and Knowledge Center that stated that the vaccines are 88% effective in decreasing the virus spread was based on data recorded while mask-wearing and social distancing are mandated by the government. “If we will see any serious change in the public’s adherence to restrictions, we risk losing this effectiveness,” he warned.

The plane laden with vaccines had just rolled to a stop at Santiago’s airport in late January, and Chile’s president, Sebastián Piñera, was beaming. “Today,” he said, “is a day of joy, emotion and hope.” The source of that hope: China – a country that Chile and dozens of other nations are depending on to help rescue them from the COVID-19 pandemic. China’s vaccine diplomacy campaign has been a surprising success: It has pledged roughly half a billion doses of its vaccines to more than 45 countries, according to a country-by-country tally by The Associated Press.

Israel’s Health Ministry informed the Kupot Cholim on Monday that they can begin vaccinating recovered coronavirus patients on Tuesday. Recovered virus patients over the age of 16 are eligible to be vaccinated three months after recovery. They will be vaccinated with a single vaccine dose rather than two doses. According to Health Ministry data, over 323,000 Israelis recovered from the coronavirus at least three months ago. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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A senior World Health Organization official said Monday it was “premature” and “unrealistic” to think the pandemic might be stopped by the end of the year, but that the recent arrival of effective vaccines could at least help dramatically reduce hospitalizations and death. The world’s singular focus right now should be to keep transmission of COVID-19 as low as possible, said Dr. Michael Ryan, director of WHO’s emergencies program. “If we’re smart, we can finish with the hospitalizations and the deaths and the tragedy associated with this pandemic” by the end of the year, he said at media briefing. Ryan said WHO was reassured by emerging data that many of the licensed vaccines appear to be helping curb the virus’ explosive spread.

Canada’s largest city has started vaccinating police officers ahead of people 80 years of age and older. A Toronto police spokesperson said Monday police constables and sergeants who respond to emergency calls where medical assistance may be required have been moved to the current phase by Ontario’s provincial government. A police spokesperson said 2,250 of Toronto’s nearly 5,000 officers are eligible. The Ontario provincial government has said those 80 and above will start getting vaccinated in the third week of March, but some regions of the province have already started vaccinating those residents while the province sets up a website to make appointments.

The IDF soldier hit by accidental gunfire on Tuesday night on his army base in the Jordan Valley died on Friday morning at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem. The soldier was identified as Staff Sgt. Yonatan Granot, z’l, 22, of Kibbutz Einat in central Israel. A preliminary investigation into the incident showed that Granot was critically injured when a commander picked up a rifle that had not been properly unloaded after target practice and randomly pointed it at an area on the base. The rifle accidentally discharged and hit Granot on the head. The incident is still under investigation by the Military Police.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Monday morning that Israelis may need to get vaccinated twice this year due to mutated virus variants and the fact that it’s still unknown how long the effect of the Pfizer vaccine lasts. “We may need to get vaccinated twice in one year, so we’re in talks with Pfizer and Moderna for the establishment of a vaccine factory in Israel,” Netanyahu said in an interview with Army Radio. “We’re negotiating with Pfizer and Moderna to sign an agreement to purchase vaccines which are effective against the new variants. If we need to vaccinate every citizen in Israel twice a year, we’ll need a total of 36 million vaccines.” “We’re preparing for the possibility of renewing the Green Passport system every six months.

For the first time in Israel, a case of the Los Angeles variant was discovered in an Israeli who hadn’t been in California or in contact with someone who traveled abroad, the Health Ministry reported on Thursday. The ministry also reported that there are 444 cases of the South African virus variant in the country. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel is currently in negotiations with Pfizer and Moderna to purchase vaccines that are effective against the new variants. Netanyahu added that Israel is planning to establish a vaccine factory in Israel and that if he’s re-elected as prime minister, his “primary mission will be to bring 36 million more vaccines over the next year.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

There are four Israeli children in critical condition with the coronavirus, according to Health Ministry data. There are also six pregnant women in critical condition. There are a total of 38 babies under the age of one who are hospitalized due to the virus, one of whom is in serious condition, and 48 hospitalized pregnant women. Although the infection rate and the number of seriously ill patients in the country continue to decline, the reproduction number has been slowly rising in recent days, standing at 1 on Monday. There are currently 742 seriously ill virus patients, of whom 232 are ventilated. The death rate has risen to 5,758. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

A 23-year-old avreich was hospitalized in critical condition after being found unconscious on Friday night shortly after becoming drunk earlier in the day due to Purim and a few weeks after recovering from the coronavirus. The avreich, who got married less than a year ago, is hospitalized in Shaarei Tzedek Hospital, sedated and ventilated. A relative told Kikar H’Shabbos that the hospital has already declared him brain dead and he is in need of much rachamei Shamayim. Doctors believe he may have suffered a post-coronavirus heart attack, exacerbated by his drinking. The avreich spent Purim in Bnei Brak, where he lives, and then traveled to his parents’ home in Ramot before Shabbos, when the incident occurred.