Hospitalized pregnant woman (illustrative)
Hospitalized pregnant woman (illustrative)iStock

A partially-completed sequencing effort by Israel's Health Ministry is finding that most pregnant women hospitalized due to coronavirus contracted the British strain.

In an announcement the Ministry said: "In light of the serious and critical morbidity among pregnant women diagnosed with coronavirus, the Health Ministry initiated sequencing for the pregnant women currently hospitalized with coronavirus. The Health Ministry's central lab for viruses received 10 samples so far, and of the seven samples which have been fully sequenced, six were found to be the British variant."

"The Health Ministry will continue to provide additional updates on the findings, as they become available.

"In light of these findings, pregnant women have been prioritized for receiving the coronavirus vaccine. Any pregnant woman interested in doing so will be able to receive the vaccine."

Israel's Health Ministry on Saturday said that 67 Israelis had died of coronavirus over the weekend, including 54 on Friday.

The new deaths bring the coronavirus death rate in Israel to 4,326.

In addition, another 7,316 new cases were diagnosed on Friday, out of 85,739 test results, for a rate of 8.8% positive tests. Hospitals around Israel are treating 1,844 coronavirus patients, including 1,171 who are in serious condition. A record 335 patients are intubated.

At the same time, Israel's four health funds have announced that they will be vaccinating high school students in grades 11 and 12. In Clalit, Israel's largest health fund, these teens will not need to schedule an appointment. The announcement follows a decision by Israel's Health Ministry to prioritize these ages in order to allow them to take their matriculation exams.

So far, 2,492,196 Israelis have received the first dose of coronavirus vaccine, and 939,827 have received the second dose of the vaccine.