I’ll tell you about Israel’s weapons against the pandemic. Speaks Ambassador Eydar
What emerged from the webinar "The example of Israel in the vaccination plan" organized by the association Rebuilding by Stefano Parisi with the ambassador of Israel in Italy , Dror Eydar
The state of Israel is the most advanced in vaccinating its population. The data as of February 16, 2021 speak of 6,281,910 Israelis who received at least one dose of vaccine , 72.58% , and 2,457,430 Israelis were vaccinated with both doses of the vaccine. Percentages that make Israel unique in the world. After all, the Israeli Ministry of Health has for some time already signed an agreement with Pfizer for which the country has been transformed into the largest laboratory in the world on the anti Covid-19 vaccine, a global state model that is worth gold for homes. pharmaceuticals.
The Rebuilding association, which presented a strategic plan to overcome the Covid 19 emergency and relaunch the economy, organized a round table on streaming with the Israeli ambassador in Italy , Dror Eydar , Arnon Shahar , head of anti-Covid task force of Maccabi Healthcare Services , and the president of Ricostruire , Stefano Parisi .
Israel's strategy
Being a small democracy, surrounded by unfriendly authoritarian regimes, must be a constant stimulus to conservation. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why Israel is working to be the first country in the world to bring its people out of the nightmare of Covid-19. "We have an ancient rule, present in the Talmud, and in other sources of our traditions, which says that all the children of Israel are guarantors of each other, " said Ambassador Dror Eydar . Israel is perhaps the land that better than any other manages to combine a strong anchoring to its traditions with a look towards the future and innovation. "Yesterday Prime Minister Netanyau announced that he had had an interview with Moderna to create a plant for the production of vaccines in Israel – added the Israeli ambassador -. Another interview he had with Pfizer to create a research and development center in Israel. These agreements are part of the arrangements for the next few years, those in which we will have to continue to keep the virus under control until the epidemic is completely extinguished ”.
Health insurance funds and the digitalisation of healthcare
Israel has a widespread network of health care providers, the health insurance companies, spread across every neighborhood of Israeli cities. These health facilities have proved to be fundamental in the fight against the epidemic and in the administration of treatments and vaccines. Another Israeli excellence is the digitalization of the health system. "We have also proposed these systems in Italy – adds Ambassador Eydar – so it is easy to summon citizens to have them vaccinated as well as to follow them for the recall". The collection of health data is facilitated by the pervasiveness of the digitization of the Israeli health system. “The data that is collected, I want to say, is absolutely anonymous and is not secret . They are collected for the good of all humanity – emphasizes the diplomat -. Up to yesterday, more than 6 million doses of the vaccine had been administered in Israel, and more than 2 million people also had the second dose. These are huge numbers in proportion to the population ”.
The slowness of Europe compared to the speed of Israel
The speed of execution of Israel, which has a very specific project behind it, is very striking, with the uncertainties, slownesses and delays that have occurred and still occur in Europe. “There will certainly be reasons why Europe is still behind but I wonder, if it were a conventional war environment would Europe have accepted not to have weapons? – Ambassador Eydar wondered ironically – Pfizer and Moderna do not have the means to produce vaccines for everyone , the European states should have asked pharmaceutical companies for the formula for the vaccine, pay even more than the market price and vaccinate everyone, even non-European people ".
It is not doctors in Israel who vaccinate
The Israeli vaccination campaign is not led by doctors but by nurses and paramedics. The reason? It is too tiring. This is said by doctor Arnon Shahar, head of the anti-Covid task force of Maccabi Healthcare Services. "Doctors have to be doctors, there are no doctors to vaccinate because it is a tiring job for younger people – said Shahar -. In the past there have been errors due to fatigue and they must not be repeated. The vaccines are inoculated by nurses and paramedics ”. Vaccinations proceed from the center to the periphery, in the sense that the dose management is centralized and this too is managed digitally, if a vaccination site has not finished its dose supply it is not supplied with new vials.
Resistance to vaccination
The Israeli vaccination campaign started with health workers and those over 60. "We did not include chronic diseases in the first phase, but only the immunosuppressed, flaws they did not want to put pressure on general practitioners, leaving them the burden to decide whether a patient was chronic or not – added Shahar -. We have organized everything very precisely. We also have a call center that calls citizens to be vaccinated and that answers citizens' questions ”. A few more problems have arisen with the ultra-Orthodox populations, " They don't use smartphones, we have to send them voice messages ". The greatest resistance to vaccination comes from pregnant women, no vax, parents of no vax, and young children who are more afraid of the vaccine than Covid. In any case, at the moment 87% of the over 60s are vaccinated , between 70 and 79 we are 97%. And the first effects can already be seen: "Among the over 70s we are already beginning to see the decline of the disease in a severe form", explains Dr. Shahar.
The vaccination license
What in Italy seemed like a provocation in Israel is reality: the vaccination license. “We expect the duration of the vaccine to be six months, which is why the vaccinated are given a license that is valid for six months – concludes Shahar -. The green license is divided in two, on the first side there is a vaccination document in which it is indicated if the person has received both doses of the vaccine, in the second part it will be written if the swab has been made in the previous 72 hours , if he contracted the disease and how ”. Through the license it will be possible to enter cinemas, theaters, gyms, restaurants, and participation in public events.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/vi-racconto-le-armi-di-israele-contro-la-pandemia-parla-lambasciatore-eydar/ on Wed, 17 Feb 2021 08:00:16 +0000.