Or Yehuda, Israel (February 15, 2021) — Israel has fully vaccinated 30% of its population against coronavirus, by far the most of any country. The nation with the second highest percentage of people fully inoculated, the United States, has vaccinated about 4.2% of its people, illustrating the enormity of Israel’s lead in this area.
About a quarter of the Israelis fully vaccinated had their doses administered to them by Magen David Adom, the country’s paramedic and Red Cross service, which oversaw vaccinating some of Israel’s most vulnerable populations in an effort to protect those most likely to die from the disease if they were exposed.
As part of this initiative, Magen David Adom vaccinated all residents of Israel’s nursing homes, independent senior housing, and supervised housing for people with disabilities. MDA is now vaccinating people in communities that previously have had lower vaccination rates for other diseases, among them Bedouin Israelis, many of whom still live in nomadic camps, and other members of Israel’s Arab populace as well as the country’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community.
“In a pandemic, we’re truly in this all together,” said Eli Bin, director-general of Magen David Adom. “None of us will be safe from this disease until virtually all of us are safe through vaccinations and continued outreach into every segment of Israeli society.
“People are weary of this pandemic and the impact it’s had on our lives — with the lockdowns and the inability to see loved ones,” he added. “We [Magen David Adom] are determined, along with Israel’s HMOs and hospitals, to end this disease here.”
