The Ministry of Health on Monday evening published data showing a further decrease in the number of patients hospitalized in serious condition after contracting COVID-19, a number which currently stands at 258.
Among those patients, 144 are on ventilators. Nearly 80% of the patients were not vaccinated against the coronavirus at all, which according to officials in the ministry indicates the effectiveness of the vaccine in general and the effectiveness of the booster dose in particular.
According to the data, about 90% of the patients in serious condition who are less than 60 years old have not been vaccinated and this is a little less than half of all patients in this condition.
In the last day, only 579 new cases have been diagnosed in Israel. During this time, two patients died, bringing the number of deaths since the start of the pandemic to 8,055.
Sources in the Ministry of Health estimate that after the approval of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the Pfizer vaccine for children aged 5-11, in a discussion to be held on Tuesday, preparations will be accelerated to begin the vaccination of children in Israel as soon as possible.
The target for the start of the vaccination of children in Israel is during the coming month, and the Ministry of Health will begin preparations for this in the coming days.