Covid vaccines: Israel sees more hospitalisations in under-60s than elderly for first time

A man receives a vaccination against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a vaccination center in Jerusalem

Credit: Reuters/Reuters

For the first time since the start of the pandemic, Israelis aged over 60 are being hospitalised with Covid-19 in fewer numbers than their younger counterparts, scientists have announced, in the latest signal that the jabs are highly effective. 

In a post on Twitter Eran Segal, a scientist at the Weizmann Institute, said: "For the first time in the pandemic, there were fewer Covid-19 hospitalisations this week in the 60 y/o and older age group than in the 60 y/o and younger age group." 

He added: "The 60 y/o and older were first to vaccinate and 91% of them have been infected or vaccinated to date."

Israel is running one of the fastest vaccination drives in the world, in which around 40 per cent of the population have already received their first jab. The vast majority of over-60s in Israel have also received vaccines provided by Pfizer and Moderna.  

The speedy pace of vaccinations has allowed Israel to partially lift its third nationwide lockdown and unveil its plans for returning to normality.

Israel hospitalisations in over 60s vs under

Under those proposals, gyms, concert halls and sport events will be opened in mid-February if more than 90 per cent of over-50s have been fully vaccinated. 

In early March, cafes, restaurants and hotels will be reopened if at least four million Israelis have received their second dose of the vaccine, among other criteria. 

Despite the success of vaccines, the infection rate in Israel remains high, which has been blamed on new variants from the UK and South Africa. 

It came as an Israeli healthcare provider released a new study which found that only 500 of half a million fully vaccinated Israelis had subsequently caught coronavirus. 

“This data unequivocally proves that the vaccine is very effective and we have no doubt that it has saved the lives of many Israelis,” said Dr Miri Mizrahi Reuveni, an official at Maccabi, which carried out the study. 

Medical teams in Israel celebrate before receiving coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines

Credit: Reuters/Reuters

She said that those in the sample who did catch Covid mostly had only mild symptoms, while only four people had been hospitalised in a severe condition and no one had died. 

"Anyone who has not been vaccinated so far,  please hurry up and make an appointment as soon as possible,” Dr Reuveni added.

“Protect yourself from a serious illness and, God forbid, death as well as the possibility that you will infect and endanger others.”

Similar studies in Israel have also found that two doses of the Pfizer vaccine offer substantial protection against the virus, and that it may also reduce transmission rates.