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Battling COVID: Weekly Update

Tuesday, March 16, 2021

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Sisters Shuruq Jubran (R) and Amna Kahwaji who died of coronavirus complications within weeks of each other in March 2021. (Courtesy)

40 pregnant women hospitalized with COVID; none vaccinated

Sisters, aged 23 and 31, die of COVID 10 days apart after giving birth

Health official urges all pregnant women to get vaccinated after double tragedy; overall coronavirus figures continue to decline, with just 602 people in serious condition

People receive COVID-19 vaccine injections in a mobile Magen David station at the Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem on February 22, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

Citing Israel data, Pfizer says vaccine 97% effective against symptomatic COVID

By AFP and ToI Staff

An illustrative photo of a woman breastfeeding her baby. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Small Israeli study finds virus antibodies in breastmilk of vaccinated mothers

A pregnant woman wearing a face mask and gloves holds her belly as she waits in line for groceries in Waltham, Massachusetts, May 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Live updates (closed)

Israeli study shows vaccination of pregnant women immunizes fetus too

Research followed dozens of women vaccinated during the third trimester, with women and fetuses all showing similar antibody levels

7:38 pm

Report: Meshi-Zahav to claim all sexual encounters were consensual
7:37 pm

Abbas, Biden will speak on the phone soon -- Palestinian prime minister
7:07 pm

Hamas, Fatah agree to electoral code of conduct

Illustrative image: A burial services employee with the remains of a coronavirus victim on January 28, 2021. (Gili Yaari / Flash90)

A year into pandemic, Israel’s COVID death toll surpasses 6,000

Active cases dip below 30,000 for the first time since September as basic reproduction number continues to drop

Medical technicians test passengers for COVID-19 at the Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv on March 8, 2021. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Top health official: Virus ‘diminishing,’ but new variants a huge concern

Customers enjoy dining at restaurants after they were recently reopened, in Tel Aviv on March 7, 2021. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

As infections drop, virus czar expects Green Pass to be extended beyond 6 months

A bottle of aspirin (Godruma via iStock by Getty Images)

Aspirin may protect against COVID-19, Israeli research finds

By Nathan Jeffay

People who take small doses are 29% less likely than others to test positive, researchers say; those who do get COVID recover faster, and with reduced aftereffects

The Daily Briefing

Times of Israel PodcastPodcast: Daily Briefing Mar. 11 – Aspirin, the wonder drug that works on COVID?

From the blogs

The story of us. In a pandemic. In posters.

By Nancy Cahners

Tel Aviv’s artful pre-pandemic posters signified a vibrant, edgy cultural scene. The post-pandemic offerings reveal how deeply things have changed

Leehee Goldenberg

Fossil fuels and why I got the COVID-19 vaccine

Droves of Israelis cleaned tons of tar from their beloved beaches – though they didn’t put it there. The Israeli government needs to take this kind of responsibility too

Sputnik tweets its way to legitimacy

Forget about Russia’s takeover of Crimea. Moscow seeks to heal the world. Now, be sure to retweet, like and share that message

Amira Ahronoviz

Defying expectations in a pandemic

Operating in times of economic, diplomatic, and existential crises is what we at the Jewish Agency have always done. Then the coronavirus crisis combined all three

Our post-pandemic Shehechayanu moments

What ’firsts’ are worthy of this blessing? What events do we want to elevate with expressions of gratitude? Here are a few of mine

Israelis wear protective face masks in Tel Aviv, on March 12, 2021. (Yahav Gamliel/Flash90)

Health Ministry said preparing to end outdoor mask mandate by April

Government also considering expanding international flights; top official says indoor and outdoor gathering size limits could be increased before Passover

Israelis take part in celebrations marking 71st Independence Day, in Jerusalem on May 8, 2019. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

Authorities to allow 800 people at state Independence, Memorial Day ceremonies

Israelis at a cafe in Tel Aviv on March 11, 2021. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Health officials: Situation in Israel ‘most hopeful since pandemic began’

Illustrative: A medical worker prepares a COVID-19 vaccine at a Clalit vaccination center in Jerusalem on February 25, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

100,000 Israelis who got first COVID shot reportedly haven’t returned for second

Health officials attribute reluctance to go back for final dose to wariness over side effects after initial injection, misinformation about vaccines

A woman receives her second Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine from an army medic, left, at a vaccination center set up on a mall parking lot in Givataim, central Israel, during a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the virus, January 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

‘Worse than Mengele’: Medics reveal antivaxxer threats as union calls for probe

A medical worker prepares the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Tudor Ranch in Mecca, California, January 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

Anti-vaccine social media accounts thrive, with false claims about Israel deaths

By Barbara Ortutay and AMANDA SEITZ

(L-R) Yesha Council director Yigal Dilmoni, Palestinian Workers Association chair Muhammad Arif Masad and Yesha Council chair David Elhayani in the Jordan Valley on March 15, 2021. (Yesha Council)

Settler head urges vaccinating Palestinians, paid for by tax revenues sent to PA

David Elhayani and Palestinian anti-PA activist agree on urgency of inoculating West Bank residents after vaccine drive stalls

Palestinian health workers at a hospital in the West Bank town of Nablus, where health workers were vaccinated against the coronavirus after the delivery of vaccine doses from Israel. February 03, 2021 (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)

PA orders new lockdown in West Bank as hospitals reach 100% capacity

By Aaron Boxerman

The hospital where at least six people died due to an oxygen shortage, March 13, 2021, Salt, Jordan. (Screen grab/Al Mamlaka television)

Jordan health minister quits as COVID patients die from hospital oxygen shortage

Analysis

Shayna Goldberg

‘But thank God we’re healthy, right?’

This corona year has been full of ’Dayyenu’ moments when I said ’If only’ and ’it would be enough!’ Then I threw my back out

Medical technicians test passengers for COVID-19 at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv on March 8, 2021. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

UAE, Bahrain, some EU states said set to allow travel for vaccinated Israelis

Russia, Morocco, Italy, Greece will also likely recognize so-called ‘green passports’ to allow quarantine-free travel, report says, although time frame for measure still unclear

Hapoel Jerusalem soccer fans cheer during a Liga Leumit match between Hapoel Nir Ramat HaSharon and Hapoel Jerusalem at the Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem, March 12, 2021. (Flash90)

Israel lets soccer fans back into stadiums for 1st time since start of pandemic

Israelis at bars in Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda market on March 12 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

Restaurants fully booked as Israelis flock back after year of restrictions

Passover 2021Passover is the most observed Jewish holiday in N. America

In US, vaccination and tests may let some families gather for Passover this year

As uncertainty remains over whether relatives should get together to celebrate the Exodus from Egypt, a few share ‘mah nishtana’ — what’s different this year

Study on samples from US Haredi Jews casts new light on first days of COVID-19

A medical staff member displays the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination site set up in the Marseille soccer Velodrome stadium, during a presentation to the media, in Marseille, March 15, 2021. (AP/Daniel Cole)

Major European nations suspend use of AstraZeneca shot, as WHO says it’s safe

By Frank Jordans

Germany, France, and Italy become latest EU nations to announce temporary ban; European Medicines Agency tries to allay concerns, saying no known health risks

In this Feb. 5, 2021, photo, vials of AstraZeneca vaccine ready to be used at the Wellcome Centre in London. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

ExplainerWhy have several countries halted AstraZeneca vaccinations?

Health workers administer doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19 inside the convention center known as "La Nuvola", The Cloud, in Rome, Italy, March 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

WHO insists AstraZeneca vaccine is safe as shot faces new setbacks

By Robin MILLARD

Max Solomon, dressed for participation in a pre-lent Carnival as president of the the Kleinen Kolner Klub, or Little Cologne Club, pre-1933. (Courtesy Laura Chanin/JTA)

COVID-19 postpones revival of Cologne Jewish Carnival tradition ended by Nazis

By Cnaan Liphshiz

Illustrative: Kosher Palate in Dallas originally decided to follow the governor's lead, ending its requirement that customers be masked, before backtracking amid customer complaints. (Montinique Monroe/Getty Images via JTA)

A Dallas kosher grocer removed its mask requirement, then came the backlash

Kosher Palate store reverses course after outcry from Jewish community, illustrating the high stakes of the latest phase of the pandemic

Arrest warrant for Texan who wouldn’t wear mask in bank, likened it to Nazi star

By AP and ToI Staff

More Headlines

An IDF soldier receives a coronavirus vaccine in an undated photograph. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF declares: We are first military in the world with herd immunity

By Judah Ari Gross

Illustrative: A medical worker of the National Health Organisation (EODY) conducts a rapid test for the coronavirus in Athens, Greece, on February 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Businesses set to offer rapid virus tests to the unvaccinated

A vial with Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in a medical room, in Moscow, Russia, December 5, 2020 (Pavel Golovkin/AP)

Russia said to press Israel to recognize its Sputnik V vaccine

US President Joe Biden, accompanied by Vice President Kamala Harris, speaks before signing the American Rescue Plan, a coronavirus relief package, in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, March 11, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

ExplainerWarp-speed spending and other surreal stats of COVID times in America

By Calvin Woodward

Illustrative image: School buses lined up in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn on April 24, 2019. (Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images/JTA)

Orthodox Jewish groups welcome $2.75b for private schools in COVID relief bundle

By Andrew Silow-Carroll

Illustrative: An Israeli family seen during the Passover Seder on the first night of the 8-day long holiday, in Rishon Lezion, March 30, 2018. (Nati Shohat/Flash90/File)

Don't let my people goCOVID czar: People asked for restrictions to avoid hosting Passover Seder

Dancer and choreographer Rina Schenfeld from her new work, 'The Diary, Part 2,' to be performed at her Tel Aviv studio on March 11 and 12, 2021 (Courtesy Dovrat Asulin)

A dancer's diaryVeteran choreographer dances through pandemic, but craves the stage

By Jessica Steinberg

Eisenberg's deli (Google Maps street view)

Eisenberg’s deli, a New York City institution since 1929, closes indefinitely

By Gabe Friedman

Illustrative: A worker at the Teva Pharmaceuticals logistics center in Shoham, where coronavirus vaccines are stored, on January 7, 2021. (Yossi Aloni/ Flash90)

Israel to ship COVID vaccines to US for diplomatic staff

Pascal Soriot, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of AstraZeneca, on Capitol Hill in Washington, February 26, 2019. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

AstraZeneca boosts planned US supply of COVID-19 antibody drug

By AFP

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February	March 2021					April
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8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
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