Thousands of teenagers aged 12-15 have been vaccinated against Covid since Israel rolled out its massive campaign two weeks ago run by Magen David Adom.
“Despite the record-breaking heat and crowding, some 28% of this age group has already been vaccinated,” says Yoni Yagodovsky, MDA director of international relations.
Parents are required to authorize the vaccination of minors. There had been some concern that they or the young people themselves would refuse the vaccination, but after a year and a half in which teens were forced to remain in their homes, experiencing isolation and social alienation, and losing precious time in school and youth activities, the youngsters said “no” to Covid and came out en masse to get vaccinated.
A visit to the vaccine complexes around the country shows exemplary efficiency. Skilled, agile and professional MDA teams perform the vaccination quickly, give an explanation to each of the young people and support them during the 15-minute waiting period after the vaccination.
Both parents and children feel like a weight has been lifted from their shoulders. “We have come to get vaccinated because we want to return to routine. We do not want more closures and isolation. We want to enjoy our summer, to be liberated,” says Klil, a 17-year-old from Tel Aviv.
The decision to speed up the vaccination process for young people was made in light of the renewed outbreak of Coronavirus in Israel, and the more contagious Delta variant.
In recent days an increased number of patients and tens of thousands of young people are entering quarantine each day. The hope is that the vaccination process will assist in pausing the current spread of the virus. MDA is eagerly awaiting the results in a few weeks’ time.
