Israel reports no COVID-19 deaths for first time in 10 months

For the first time in 10 months, Israel has recorded no deaths related to COVID-19 as its mass inoculation drive starts to show benefits. On Thursday, the country’s COVID-19 death toll remained unchanged at 6,346. The last time zero deaths were reported in the country was in June 2020 after a lockdown was imposed in the country.

The country hit its peak in January 2021 and since then cases have continued to drop. As vaccinations were rolled out more widely, lockdown restrictions were relaxed. Among all the countries in the world, Israel has the highest vaccination rate. On Thursday, the country had reached five million vaccinations.

According to the country’s health ministry data, 53 per cent of the Israeli population has received two doses of the vaccine. The country is home to nine million people.

"This is a tremendous achievement for the health system and Israeli citizens. Together we are eradicating the coronavirus," Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said in a Tweet on Friday.

Now, experts believe the country achieve herd immunity soon. According to the World Health Organization, herd immunity is achieved when 65-70 per cent of the population receives vaccination coverage.

Rerouting vaccines

Israel is trying to reroute the AstraZeneca vaccines headed its way after the country claimed that it no longer requires the doses. The country’s pandemic coordinator on Wednesday said that the country is exploring whether it can send an upcoming big shipment to countries that require it immediately.

"We are trying to find the best solution. After all, we don't want (the vaccines) to get here and have to throw them into the trash," Nachman Ash, the pandemic coordinator told Army Radio.

AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccines have been in the limelight for causing rare blood clots among some in Europe. But the Israeli official made no reference to the same.

(With inputs from agencies)