Dr. Meir Ezra Elia, an expert in pediatric health and the chairman of the Mechusgan organization, which encourages childhood immunization, spoke on 103 FM Radio about the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 and the restrictions imposed to control its spread.
"There's going to be a storm in terms of the number of confirmed cases," he said. "The rise in infections will come."
Dr. Ezra Elia added that Israel will face a wave of infections, and not just with regards to the number of new cases: He noted that both the US and England are seeing a sharp rise in hospitalizations.
"In England, initial numbers show that Omicron particularly favors children, especially younger ones," he said. "That's very disturbing."
Regarding the campaign to vaccinate young children, he said, "We need to continue launching it quickly, we need to use as little as possible - if any at all - definite punishments or sanctions that are not encouragement. Let's learn from the third wave: There are restrictions that were decided, but there isn't enough enforcement of them. So let's focus first of all on proper enforcement."
According to Dr. Ezra Elia, in order to prevent the spread of infections, especially ahead of the upcoming New Year's events, clear limits should be set regarding "what is permitted and what is forbidden." Otherwise, "a person can come and say, 'This isn't a party. It's a meeting of friends.' We need definite limits with epidemiological logic."