Israel recorded zero COVID-19 deaths in a day for the first time in 10 months


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.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
What has the Dalai Lama achieved?
The Explainer Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader has just turned 90, and he has been clarifying his reincarnation plans
-
Europe's heatwave: the new front line of climate change
In the Spotlight How will the continent adapt to 'bearing the brunt of climate change'?
-
Crossword: July 13, 2025
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year high
Speed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, change
Speed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panel
speed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kids
Speed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sick
speed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last year
speed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
-
Trump seeks to cut drug prices via executive order
speed read The president's order tells pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices, but it will likely be thrown out by the courts
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measles
Speed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths