Around 5 percent of Arab Israelis had been vaccinated against the novel coronavirus by Wednesday morning, compared to 15% in the general population, according to a report by the Arab Emergency Committee.
While Arab Israelis tend to be younger, thus making fewer of them eligible for the coronavirus vaccine — which is still being given mostly to those 60 and over — the gap persists even among those over 60. The committee finds that 30% of Arab Israelis over 60 had been vaccinated, compared to around 59% of over 60s in the general population.
In a conversation earlier this week, Ahmad al-Sheikh, who compiles the figures, chalked the low rate of vaccination up to problems with accessibility — relatively few vaccination centers have been placed in Arab cities and towns. Some health officials, however, have argued that Arab Israelis are avoiding the coronavirus vaccine due to conspiracy theories about its origin and effects.
A Bedouin woman receives a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a medical center in the Bedouin local council of Segev Shalom near the city of Beersheba, southern Israel, Dec. 30, 2020. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)
It's not (only) about you.
Supporting The Times of Israel isn’t a transaction for an online service, like subscribing to Netflix. The ToI Community is for people like you who care about a common good: ensuring that balanced, responsible coverage of Israel continues to be available to millions across the world, for free.
Sure, we'll remove all ads from your page and you'll unlock access to some excellent Community-only content. But your support gives you something more profound than that: the pride of joining something that really matters.
Join the Times of Israel Community
Join our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this