Israel's COVID-19 endgame

Abstract

As several countries now confront COVID-19 surges, Israel may be crossing over to other side of the pandemic. Whereas 5.5 million new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections were reported globally last week, Israel reported only 398 (compared with >50,000 in January). Already, 54% of Israel's 9.2 million citizens have been fully vaccinated, considerably more than in most other countries. In the coming months, as restrictions continue to ease, the country should be optimistic, yet cautious, as risks of resurgence persist. Israel thus may well be an early case study for favorable outcomes of a mass-vaccination campaign.