covid-19 vaccination in israel covid-19 vaccination in israel israel's covid-19 vaccination programme, officially named "give a shoulder" (hebrew: לתת כתף), began on 19 december 2020, and has been praised for its speed, having given twenty percent of the israeli population the first dose of the vaccines' two dose regimen in the span of three weeks. covid-19 vaccination in israeldate19 december 2020 (2020-12-19) – presentlocationisraelcausecovid-19 pandemic in israeltargetfull immunisation of people in israel against covid-19 the president of israel, reuven rivlin, with the first vaccinator in phase b of the vaccine, at the israel institute for biological research, brilife at the barzilai medical center. as of june 26, 2021, about 64% of eligible israelis have received at least one dose. coordinated vaccination drives by the country's health authorities, utilizing databases of personal information for israeli patients, contributed to israel's success in vaccinating a high proportion of its population in a short period of time, relative to the rest of the world. according to a september 2021 study published in the lancet, covid-19 vaccination in israel prevented an additional 158,665 infections, 24,597 hospitalisations, 17,432 severe or critical hospitalisations, and 5,532 deaths from december 20, 2020, to april 10, 2021. background many factors contributed to the quick distribution of vaccines in the state of israel. israel's population is younger on average than many other developed countries, with 12% of its population over the age of 65. (→ demographics of israel) israel is smaller in land area than many other developed nations. it has a comparatively small population of about 9.3 million people and a high population density (424/km2). israel's organized response in terms of attaining, storing and distributing vaccines was considered to be overall well coordinated. this is in part owed to the centralized nature of israel's government system, which for example does not defer many health policy decisions to lower state-level bodies of government. the state purchased a substantial amount of pfizer–biontech covid-19 vaccines relative to its population as early as december 2020. in may 2020, the state secured agreements with companies which were developing vaccines, such as moderna. vaccines on order vaccine approval deployment pfizer–biontech yes yes moderna yes yes vaccines in trial stage vaccine type (technology) phase i phase ii phase iii pfizer–biontech rna completed completed completed the israel institute for biological research viral vector completed completed — migvax-101 vlp not yet not yet not yet history early into the programme, israel provided pfizer with medical information about its citizens as part of a deal for the country to receive a supply covid-19 vaccines from the company. the initial campaign for vaccinations focused on the elderly (people over the age of 60) and other patient groups with a high risk of severe illness in the case of infection, such as those with preexisting conditions, as well as employees of the healthcare sector. after eight weeks, nearly 85% of health workers at a hospital in jerusalem (hadassah hebrew university medical center) were vaccinated. israel started its campaign on 19 december 2020, with prime minister benjamin netanyahu being the first person in the country to receive the vaccine, getting injected on live tv to encourage other israelis to get vaccinated. in less than two weeks, over 10% of israelis received their first dose. mass vaccination in israel has produced evidence that the pfizer vaccine works to stop transmission of the virus, including asymptomatic infections. the vaccination programme has also curbed deaths in the country. as of early february 2021, at least 90% of israelis over the age of 60 received at least one dose of the pfizer vaccine, and there was a 41% drop in confirmed infections in the country compared with the previous month. by late february, at least 4.8 million israelis received at least one dose. this mass vaccination led to a drop in severe covid-19 cases. israel passed a law allowing government workers to identify and contact those who have not been vaccinated, in order to convince them to do so. to access certain locations such as gyms, hotels, and theatres, immunized residents show a green pass (also known as a "green badge"), which was officially introduced by the israeli ministry of health on february 21. the green pass indicates the holder is immunized against covid-19, either by vaccination or previous infection. people who have received both doses of a covid-19 vaccine are eligible to receive this certificate of vaccination. it expires after six months. as of march 2021, israel has the highest vaccinated population per capita in the world. about 60% of residents in israel received at least one dose of covid-19 vaccine by march, and certain public places reopened access for those who were vaccinated. only about 100,000 residents over the age of 50 remained unvaccinated. by march, at least 50% of the israeli population had received both doses of the pfizer vaccine. the perceived success of israel's vaccination programme has been credited to the centralized systems its health maintenance organizations maintained, especially with regard to managing the personal health data of israelis. they were able to coordinate national vaccination drives, contacting residents directly using a database of contact information such as phone numbers and emails. every israeli citizen must register with one of the country's four hmos. on 10 november 2021, the israeli government approved the use of covid-19 vaccine shots for children between the ages of 5 and 11 years. israeli epidemiologists and health authorities have identified vaccine hesitancy among parents as an obstacle to getting children vaccinated. on 22 december 2021, an israeli government panel recommended a fourth dose for the elderly and immunocompromised population. on 5 january 2022, israeli president isaac herzog launched the fourth covid-19 vaccination campaign, receiving his second booster at hadassah ein kerem and urging israeli citizens to get vaccinated against the omicron variant. waning vaccine immunity