Most COVID-19 patients who were hooked up to ECMO (heart and lung) machines in 2021 were unvaccinated, Health Ministry data shows.
The data, first reported by Yediot Aharonot, shows that out of 252 people who required an ECMO machine in 2021 and the first month of 2022, 216 of them were completely unvaccinated, while the other 36 were either partially or fully vaccinated.
At the same time, those requiring an ECMO machine were not necessarily the elderly: 212 of the patients were under 60 years of age.
According to estimates, the reason for this is that the vaccination rate among the elderly population is much higher than the vaccination rate among those under 60.
The Ministry also concluded that the chance of unvaccinated individuals aged 60 and over developing serious illness is 11.6 times higher than among their vaccinated peers.
As of Monday morning, 20 coronavirus patients were on ECMO machines. During the fourth wave, the highest number of patients on ECMOs was 50.