Israel's COVID-19 death toll topped the 8,000 mark, the Health Ministry reported Monday evening, in a painful reminder of the heavy toll the country has had to pay as its coronavirus outbreak abates.
Fatalities have reached 8,010, eleven of which have been recorded since the morning hours. Nine of the deceased were not vaccinated against coronavirus and the other two have not received a vaccine booster shot. Some 1,000 Israelis have lost their lives to the disease over the past two months alone.
Meanwhile, 1,004 Israelis have tested positive for coronavirus out of some 70,000 tests carried out since midnight, putting the country's infection rate at 1.5%.
Out of 17,536 active patients, 357 were in serious condition — the lowest such figure reported since August 7 — 168 of whom were connected to ventilators. Over 75% of those severely ill are unvaccinated.
According to the ministry, more than 6.2 million Israelis have received at least one vaccine dose, close to 5.7 million have gotten two, and more than 3.8 million have been administered a booster shot.
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A health worker administers a patient with the coronavirus vaccine
(Photo: Ori Dudkevich)
Ten months after Israel launched its coronavirus inoculation campaign, the Health Ministry announced on Monday that the country's health funds will begin offering citizens the AstraZeneca vaccine starting Thursday.
According to a statement from the ministry, the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company's vaccine will be available to Israelis over the age of 18 who are unable to receive Pfizer and Moderna's jabs due to their mRNA technology.
The vaccination will only be given with a doctor's referral.