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Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital team members wearing safety gear as they work in the a coronavirus ward, on February 01, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
No vaccine? No patients! Hospital relegates unvaccinated staff to paper pushing
By Nathan Jeffay
The Health Ministry has called for non-inoculated staff to be kept away from highest-risk wards; Jerusalem’s Hadassah has gone a step further, barring contact with all patients
A Israeli woman receives a vaccination in Jerusalem, on February 15, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
From Israel with hope: Best data yet suggests vaccines will empty COVID wards
By Nathan Jeffay
Spirulina tablets and powder (Alexlky via iStock via Getty Images)
Algae extract may avert severe COVID deterioration, say Israeli researchers
By Nathan Jeffay
Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital team members wearing safety gear as they work in the a coronavirus ward, on February 01, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
March 2, 2021, 11:33 pm
No vaccine? No patients! Hospital relegates unvaccinated staff to paper pushing
The Health Ministry has called for non-inoculated staff to be kept away from highest-risk wards; Jerusalem’s Hadassah has gone a step further, barring contact with all patients
By Nathan Jeffay
A Israeli woman receives a vaccination in Jerusalem, on February 15, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
March 1, 2021, 4:49 pm
From Israel with hope: Best data yet suggests vaccines will empty COVID wards
Of first 1.82 million immunized, only 0.07% became virus positive, 122 were hospitalized, 23 died. If everyone had shots, we’d only need a ‘few dozen’ virus beds, says top MD
By Nathan Jeffay
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., meets with reporters before the House votes to pass a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package, during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)
February 27, 2021, 9:40 am
House passes $1.9T pandemic bill on near party-line vote
Bill provides $1,400 payments to individuals, extends emergency unemployment benefits; two Democrats vote with Republicans against plan
By Alan Fram
School kids dressed up in costumes arrive to their school ahead of the the Jewish holiday of Purim, in Sderot, southern Israel, on February 24, 2021. (Flash90)
February 25, 2021, 9:17 pm
Purim curfew could do more harm than good among vaccine skeptics, 2 experts say
Medical professionals warn efforts to get all-important unvaccinated segment of Israel’s adult population inoculated could take a hit if the nighttime closure is unevenly enforced
By Nathan Jeffay
A worker at an israeli logistics center where coronavirus vaccines are stored and distributed, on January 7, 2021. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)
February 25, 2021, 7:14 pm
Study: Vaccine saved Israel elderly from full force of UK strain in nick of time
Research shows extra-infectious virus variant has proven 45% more transmissible in country, but vaccination halted its rise among at-risk populations, saving ‘many’ lives
By Nathan Jeffay
Spirulina tablets and powder (Alexlky via iStock via Getty Images)
February 24, 2021, 6:21 pm
Algae extract may avert severe COVID deterioration, say Israeli researchers
Scientists, in peer-reviewed study: ’Cytokine storm,’ an immune overreaction, could be prevented by substance that is already FDA-approved for food and dietary supplements
By Nathan Jeffay
United Hatzalah medics in Nahariya take a Holocaust survivor to the beach, after a trip to a vaccination center. (Courtesy of United Hatzalah)
February 22, 2021, 10:34 pm
EMT group pushes to get Holocaust survivors out of the house and vaccinated
United Hatzalah and Claims Conference reaching out to 20,000 homebound, offering to arrange a shot appointment and transport, often with a scenic stop along the way
By Nathan Jeffay
Osnat Ben Shitrit. (Instagram)
February 21, 2021, 11:17 am
Pregnant 32-year-old woman and her fetus die of COVID at Jerusalem hospital
Expert says case ‘raises a red flag’ regarding dangers of coronavirus to pregnant women, especially the now-dominant British variant; 30-week pregnant woman had not been vaccinated
By Nathan Jeffay
Tyson Foods team members receive COVID-19 vaccines from health officials at the Joslin, Illinois facility, February 19, 2021. (John Konstantaras/AP Images for Tyson Foods)
February 21, 2021, 9:58 am
US study suggests efficacy of 1st Pfizer, Moderna shot increases with time
Mayo Clinic findings show vaccine gives 75% protection 15 days after 1st dose, rising to 83% after 36 days; figure climbs to 89% for people who received both doses
By TOI staff
In this Feb. 4, 2021 photo, Israelis receive a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine from medical professionals at a coronavirus vaccination center set up in a shopping mall parking lot in Givatayim (AP Photo/Oded Balilty, File)
February 19, 2021, 9:08 am
Israeli study: 75% protection from 1st Pfizer vaccine dose, so okay to delay 2nd
Doctors say research answers if first booster can be delayed, one of the most burning vaccine questions internationally; doesn’t prove how long impact of 1st dose alone will last
By Nathan Jeffay
A medical worker at a drive-through site to collect samples for coronavirus testing in the northern Israeli city of Safed on February 8, 2021. (David Cohen/Flash90)
February 18, 2021, 6:11 pm
A vaccine-defiant Israeli mutation wouldn’t be surprising, ex-virus czar warns
Ronni Gamzu says high case count, together with high vaccination rates, may cause the virus to evolve to ‘escape mutation’; but he voices optimism on collective protection
By Nathan Jeffay
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu receives a certificate after having his second COVID vaccine shot, on January 09, 2021. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
February 17, 2021, 11:36 am
Experts reject Netanyahu’s claim Israel is almost ‘done with COVID’
End-of-crisis prediction a mere ‘campaign statement,’ immunologist says, after PM declared Israel will be out of the woods if 570,000 more citizens age 50-plus get vaccinated
By Nathan Jeffay
Patients diagnosed positive for COVID-19 who are hospitalized at the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital coronavirus ward receive a visit from family members (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
February 15, 2021, 6:41 pm
New in Israel: Antibody doses for high-risk COVID cases straight after diagnosis
Synthetic FDA-approved antibodies are believed to reduce the chance of serious symptoms; Hadassah head expects them to ‘prevent people from deteriorating’
By Nathan Jeffay
Israelis play tennis on an empty road during lockdown, following the government's measures to help stop the spread of the coronavirus, in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, Israel, April 9, 2020. (AP/ Oded Balilty)
February 15, 2021, 6:18 pm
Easing lockdown now is a ‘big mistake,’ one hospital chief warns
Masad Barhoum of the Galilee Medical Center says hospitals struggling, low Arab inoculation rate a danger due to contact with unvaccinated Palestinians
By Nathan Jeffay
An Israeli woman using the HeraBEAT device, newly deployed at Sheba Medical Center (courtesy of Sheba Medical Center)
February 15, 2021, 4:38 pm
Hospital launches system to remotely monitor fetal health in COVID ward
Sheba Medical Center protocol, which has expectant moms operating devices and sending data to docs, aims to address problem of providing close care to those in isolation
By Nathan Jeffay
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