At least 164 doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals in Israel contracted the coronavirus after refusing the vaccine, Channel 12 News reported on Wednesday. A total of 66 medical professionals at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan contracted the virus, 18 at both Shaarei Tzedek Hospital in Jerusalem and Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Haifa, 17 at the Assuta Medical Center in Ashdod, and 13 at the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya. The report stated that only 70-90% of medical professionals in Israel were vaccinated, with doctors more likely than nurses to take the jab. The government is pushing legislation to make vaccination mandatory for medical workers and other workers who come into contact with the public.

US doctors nationwide have been seeing a sharp increase in the number of patients with pediatric post-COVID syndrome, called Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children or MIS-C, The New York Times reported this week. There are not only more cases overall but more children are becoming seriously ill, doctors say. “We’re now getting more of these MIS-C kids, but this time, it just seems that a higher percentage of them are really critically ill,” said Dr. Roberta DeBiasi, chief of infectious diseases at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. Dr. DeBiasi said that 80-90% of the children require treatment in the ICU versus only about 50% during the hospital’s first wave. According to the report, the reasons for the increase are not clear.

A 30-year-old Israeli father of two with no underlying health conditions passed away of COVID-19 on Tuesday night. The niftar, Lior Mevorach, z’l, was a resident of Lod in central Israel. “Our hearts are breaking!” wrote Lod Mayor Yair Revivo. “Lior Mevorach, z’l, of Lod, a 30-year-old man of great talent, succumbed tonight to the cruel coronavirus.” “My consolations to Liat, his heroic wife, and their two small daughters who were left orphans.” “I plead with you, adhere to regulations and go get vaccinated!” the mayor pleaded. “The new variant targets young people and directly attacks the lungs.” Yehi Zichro Baruch. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Israeli HMO Maccabi Healthcare Services announced on Wednesday that the Pfizer vaccine is 95% effective, precisely the rate reported by Pfizer in its clinical trials. Maccabi stated that out of a trial group of 602,000 people who were vaccinated, only 608 contracted the coronavirus, equivalent to one in a thousand. In contrast, out of a control group of 528,000 Israelis with similar backgrounds who weren’t vaccinated, 20,621 contracted the virus. Maccabi doctors believe that even those vaccinated who did contract the virus were less seriously ill due to the vaccine, with the majority reporting only mild symptoms. Some, 21 were hospitalized, 11 with mild symptoms, three with moderate symptoms, and seven with severe symptoms. None died from the virus.

Public indignation over secret coronavirus vaccinations for the wealthy and well-connected in Peru grew Wednesday, a day after the Vatican’s ambassador to the South American nation admitted he was inoculated ahead of health care workers and the poor. The surreptitious vaccination of nearly 500 people, including a then-president, his wife and brother, has roused anger over inequality in a country that has been badly battered by the pandemic, which has taken the lives of at least 310 doctors.

Life expectancy in the United States dropped a staggering one year during the first half of 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic caused its first wave of deaths, health officials are reporting. Minorities suffered the biggest impact, with Black Americans losing nearly three years and Hispanics, nearly two years, according to preliminary estimates Thursday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “This is a huge decline,” said Robert Anderson, who oversees the numbers for the CDC. “You have to go back to World War II, the 1940s, to find a decline like this.” Other health experts say it shows the profound impact of COVID-19, not just on deaths directly due to infection but also from heart disease, cancer and other conditions.

Israel vaccinated its four millionth citizen on Tuesday, with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein, and Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion joining Theodore Slazzen for a photo op at a Leumit Health services clinic in Jerusalem. Over 2.7 million Israelis have been fully vaccinated with both doses of the vaccine. “I want to appeal the 570,000 people over 50 who haven’t yet been vaccinated,” Netanyahu said after Slazzen was vaccinated. ” Almost 100% of fatalities and severe cases are in this group.

Israel’s Health Ministry published new data on coronavirus morbidity in children on Tuesday, A total of 1,787 children under the age of 18 have been hospitalized since the start of the pandemic, and 100 children were seriously ill. Nine children passed away due to the virus. A majority of the pediatric coronavirus cases, 1,021, were in children younger than four. There are currently seven children hospitalized in serious condition, of whom three are ventilated. In recent weeks, there has been a spike in the number of young adults seriously ill with the coronavirus. There are currently at least 32 Israelis under the age of 30 in serious condition due to the virus, of whom 11 are ventilated. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

A rare winter storm that dumped a foot of snow on Seattle couldn’t keep a 90-year-old woman from her first appointment for the coronavirus vaccine. The Seattle Times reports that Fran Goldman walked six miles to get her shot. “I have been calling to get an appointment anywhere, every morning, every afternoon and often I’ve been online at night,” Goldman said. She finally secured a slot for Sunday morning, but Friday and Saturday a strong winter storm moved through the region, turning the city’s normally rainy streets into a winter scene of snowdrifts. Goldman dressed in fleece pants and a short-sleeved shirt so that the nurse could get to her arm easily. Over that, she layered a fleece zip-up, then a down coat, then a rain jacket.

Israel has decided not to send a delegation of defense companies to a prestigious arms fair in the United Arab Emirates next week due to coronavirus restrictions that have forced the closure of Israel’s international airport, the Defense Ministry announced Monday. Dozens of Israeli companies, including state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, had planned on sending delegations to the IDEX arms fair. It was to mark the first time Israel has participated in the gathering, a result of last year’s U.S.-brokered agreement establishing ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.