Israel continues to provide what appears to be a real-time look at the success of its COVID-19 vaccination strategy.
For the first time in 10 months, Israel did not record a single COVID-19 death in a 24-hour period on Friday. The last time this happened, the country had enacted strict lockdown measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus, but that's not the case now. Infections are plummeting even as Israel has gradually lifted restrictions, including an outdoor mask mandate. "Israelis are joyously resuming routines that were disrupted more than a year ago," The Washington Post writes, noting that restaurants and schools are both back to pre-pandemic capacity.
So far, evidence suggests the decline is largely thanks to a swift and successful vaccine rollout. Israel has the highest vaccination rate in the world, having administered around 120 doses per 100 people, and about 53 percent of the population has received two doses, which is required for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine that's been in use in the country. Read more at BBC.