Israel’s covid-19 vaccination campaign leads the world

Israel’s covid-19 vaccination campaign leads the world

Fine needleworkIsrael's covid-19 vaccination campaign leads the worldWhat can other countries learn from its efforts?LESS THAN three weeks after Israel launched its covid-19 vaccination drive, more than 1.2m of its citizens, about 14% of the population, have received the first of two jabs. It is far ahead of the rest of the world. Bahrain, which comes second in terms of vaccination per person, has jabbed less than 4% of its population. By January 9th Israel hopes to have vaccinated nearly 2m people: two-thirds of those over 60, and most of the country's medical staff. At that point they will all be called back for their second jab.Israel's needlework is impressive. It also has some unique advantages. Start with the fact that its 9m citizens are spread over just 21,000 sq km (not including the occupied territories). So the logistics are relatively straightforward, even for the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine, which needs to be kept ultracold during transit. Doses can be ferried from the main storage facility near Tel Aviv to vaccination centres across the county in a matter of hours.The unique structure of Israel's health system also helps. The government provides universal coverage through four official health-insurance organisations, which are required to