Israel's vaccination sprint: Around 14% of Israel's total population have already received the 1st dose of Covid19 vaccine. A sprint that has taken Israel to the top of the per capita vaccination chart.
How did the country of 9M people achieve this? A thread.
1/n
How did the country of 9M people achieve this? A thread.
1/n
Small size: Israel is a small country of 9 million people - slightly larger than Chennai and less than half of Mumbai's population. The size makes distribution/logistics easier and can't be compared to the challenges of larger countries. But, the story goes beyond it's size.
2/n
2/n
Healthcare system: At the center of Israel's swift vaccination progress is the universal, vertically integrated, digitised healthcare system. Health care is a fundamental right in Israel, with mandatory health insurance run by 4 health maintenance organizations.
3/n
3/n
Aggressive procurement: A strong healthcare system would not have helped, without availability of enough vaccines - especially when multiple countries are vying for the limited supply.
Interestingly, Israel did not place any early procurement orders for the Pfizer vaccine!
4/n
Interestingly, Israel did not place any early procurement orders for the Pfizer vaccine!
4/n
They bet on Moderna and Oxford vaccines, placing order for millions of doses. But, when US FDA approved the Pfizer vaccine before Moderna, Israel scrambled and reportedly paid a premium to secure 8 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
A domestic vaccine is in Phase2 trials.
5/n
A domestic vaccine is in Phase2 trials.
5/n
Israel's vaccination program, named 'Give a shoulder' started off b/w 20-23rd December, targeting those above 60 years of age and healthcare workers/those with comorbidities. About 150 vaccination clinics have been setup and vaccine vans used for outer towns.
6/n
6/n
With an aim to administer 1.5L doses/day, the programme has been working 7 days a week in some cases. Almost half of their population above 60 have been administered atleast 1 dose.
Pfizer vaccine has been used till now, with Moderna supplies expected in coming weeks.
7/n
Pfizer vaccine has been used till now, with Moderna supplies expected in coming weeks.
7/n
Innovations: Storage challenges meant that any unused Pfizer vaccine had to be discarded at end of the day. To prevent this, Israel allowed unscheduled walk-ins of even non priority group persons towards EOD to get vaccinated.
8/n
8/n
Innovations: Pfizer supplied vaccines in 1000 dose packages. Israel became the first country to repackage this into smaller consignments that could be transported to smaller towns, coming up with special repackaging processes approved by Pfizer.
9/n
9/n
Israel will be halting new vaccinations for 2 weeks in December, to administer the 2nd dose to those who received one earlier.
Criticisms: Palestinians in West Bank/Gaza strip have not been covered. It is beyond the scope of our discussion here.
10/n
Criticisms: Palestinians in West Bank/Gaza strip have not been covered. It is beyond the scope of our discussion here.
10/n
The size, socio-economic parameters etc. make Israel a non relevant comparison to India at several levels.
But relevant takeaways: Effective communication, use of technology, agile innovations, reduction of vaccine wastage and most importantly administrative coordination.
n/n.
But relevant takeaways: Effective communication, use of technology, agile innovations, reduction of vaccine wastage and most importantly administrative coordination.
n/n.
Errata: In tweet 10/n, please read as - 'Israel will be halting new vaccinations for 2 weeks in JANUARY'.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
