COVID-19 Delta variant

A child receives a coronavirus test at a health clinic in Katzrin, September 6, 2021. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)

October 28, 2021, 12:18 pm

COVID positivity rate hits 4-month low as Israel prepares to allow in tourists

Just 642 people tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday; government lifts cap on outdoor gatherings, readies vaccine drive for kids

By Amy Spiro

Children enter 1st grade on their first day of the new academic year at the Pola school in Jerusalem, September 1, 2021 (Yossi Zamir/Flash90)

October 27, 2021, 2:29 pm

Daily Briefing Oct. 27 – Will Israelis agree to vaccinate their young children?

Health correspondent Nathan Jeffay on COVID shots for kids 5-11; senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur on coalition infighting; and Raoul Wootliff on a new stage in the Netanyahu trial

By TOI staff

An Israeli youth receives a COVID-19 vaccine shot at a vaccination center in Petah Tikva, July 19, 2021. (Flash90)

October 27, 2021, 10:43 am

After FDA nod, Israel gears up to start vaccinating 5- to 11-year-olds

Health Ministry chief says approval process in Israel will be ‘more transparent,’ urges parents to vaccinate children despite steady decline in morbidity

By Amy Spiro

This October 2021 photo provided by Pfizer shows kid-size doses of its COVID-19 vaccine in Puurs, Belgium. (Pfizer via AP)

October 26, 2021, 11:35 pm

FDA advisers back Pfizer shot for ages 5-11, paving way for Israel to follow

Vaccine for young children still requires approval from FDA itself, as well as the CDC; experts believe vaccine’s benefits for age group outweigh any potential risks

By TOI staff and AP

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett recieves his third dosage of the COVID-19 vaccine at Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba, on August 20, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

October 26, 2021, 9:27 pm

Bennett calls meeting on vaccinating kids aged 5-11, as FDA weighs approval

If US regulator okays vaccines for younger children, Israel is widely expected to follow suit with its own approval process; health officials say shots could start within weeks

By TOI staff

What is the 'AY.4.2' variant? (AP Illustration/Peter Hamlin)

October 25, 2021, 2:24 am

Health Ministry says new Delta mutation AY4.2 appears to be 15% more infectious

However, subvariant first identified in UK not believed to be deadlier or more resistant to vaccines; first cases found in Israel last week

By TOI staff and AP

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (C) and other ministers attend a cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem on October 24, 2021. (Haim Zach/GPO)

October 24, 2021, 1:54 pm

Bennett says government earmarking NIS 10 billion ‘for future coronavirus waves’

PM warns further outbreaks ‘could happen in another month, another six months, or not at all’; says finance minister agreed to ‘one-time expansion of the 2022 budget framework’

By TOI staff

Health worker prepares a COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in Jerusalem, September 30, 2021 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

October 24, 2021, 1:01 pm

Health officials say Israel could start vaccinating kids 5-11 by mid-November

Virus czar: Israeli kids to start getting inoculated after US counterparts, parents must ‘protect their children’; Health chief Ash: Government go-ahead may come ‘in several weeks’

By TOI staff

Gravediggers carry a coffin with a body of a patient who died of coronavirus at the Novo-Yuzhnoye cemetery, which serves as one of the burial grounds for those who died of the coronavirus outside Omsk, Russia, Oct. 22, 2021 (AP Photo)

October 23, 2021, 1:39 pm

Russia sets new death, infection records as COVID-19 surge persists

Russians to stay away from work next week as country tries to stem infections; only about one-third of population is vaccinated amid high levels of skepticism, misinformation

By Jim Heintz

Illustrative -- A healthcare worker injects a boy with a dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, during a vaccination drive for children between the ages of 12-17, in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico, Oct. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Isabel Mateos)

October 23, 2021, 11:45 am

FDA says Pfizer COVID vaccine looks highly effective for children 5-11

US says benefit outweighs any risk, no unexpected side effects; panel to vote Tuesday before decision made on authorization; Israel said planning to inoculate kids from December

By AP and TOI staff

Travelers are seen at Ben Gurion Airport, on July 19, 2021. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

October 21, 2021, 5:54 pm

Israel to allow vaccinated or recovered tourists to enter starting November 1

But government says no entry for travelers coming from ‘red’ countries or from places seeing outbreak of new AY4.2 strain; Russian vaccine not okayed, for now

By TOI staff

A medical worker prepares a vial of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine at Clalit Health Service's vaccination center in the Cinema City complex in Jerusalem, September 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

October 21, 2021, 4:35 pm

3rd dose of Pfizer vaccine 95.6% effective against Delta, phase 3 results show

Pharmaceutical giant’s chief says trials ‘provide further evidence of the benefits of boosters’ and will be shared with regulatory agencies ‘as soon as possible’

By AFP and TOI staff

Police officers raid a Yeshiva that is open in violation of the COVID-19 emergency regulations, in the Sanhedria Neighborhood of Jerusalem on January 19, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

October 21, 2021, 2:12 pm

Daily Briefing Oct. 21 – COVID studies offer telling results

Startup Israel editor Ricky Ben-David and science and health correspondent Nathan Jeffay discuss coronavirus research, Israel-UAE collaboration on Beresheet 2, and foldable cars

By TOI staff

Travelers are seen at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv on September 20, 2021. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)

October 21, 2021, 1:33 pm

Officials mull testing tourists from nations with new virus strain every 2 days

Plan to be proposed by health officials at meeting with Bennett amid concerns over subvariant; 5 cases of AY4.2 discovered retroactively in Israel; CDC says 1st cases found in US

By TOI staff

A healthcare worker takes a swab sample from a woman for COVID-19, after returning from overseas at the Ben Gurion International Airport on September 20, 2021. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)

October 20, 2021, 8:32 pm

PM orders new COVID subvariant be closely watched, data shared with Europe

Bennett huddles with top health officials, indicates that the framework to allow the relaunch of vaccinated tourism in Israel could be altered due to AY4.2 strain

By Amy Spiro