Coronavirus

Survey:

Most parents don't trust others' reports on home antigen tests

Vast majority of parents say they report truth after testing children before school, but 70% say they believe other parents are lying.

Fauci:

'We're heading out of the full blown pandemic phase'

Dr. Anthony Fauci tells Financial Times he hopes all pandemic-related restrictions will end in the coming months.

US to roll out vaccines for children under 5 later this month

US government planning to roll out Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines for children under age of 5 as soon as February 21.

United Hatzalah to offer free antigen testing

United Hatzalah to begin providing free supervised COVID antigen tests in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, Rehovot, Beit Shemesh, and Airport City.

Study: Hamsters can spread COVID to humans

New study suggests hamsters are to blame for outbreak of COVID in Hong Kong.

Report: J&J suspends production of COVID vaccine

Johnson & Johnson has temporarily suspended production of its COVID-19 vaccine at plant in the Dutch city of Leiden.

Cure for long COVID? Antihistamines shown to provide huge relief

Case study shows over 90 percent restoration of daily function after taking cheap & readily available OTC medication.

Most of the world is 'high-risk' for COVID according to CDC

"Make sure you're fully vaccinated" if you visit, says CDC, even though these countries have the highest vaccination rates.

Expiration date for Israel's Pfizer shots extended by two weeks

Expiration date for some 250,000 shots reportedly extended by two weeks amid major decline in demand for the shots.

Decline in number of serious COVID-19 cases, new infections

Number of intubated COVID-19 cases drops, as one more patient is placed on ECMO, and 23 others die.

Coronavirus czar:

'The more cases, the less optimal the care will be'

Prof. Salman Zarka, coronavirus czar, says Israel has 700 cases of BA.2 variant, recommends home antigen tests before family gatherings.

Health Ministry Chief:

'Almost guaranteed that the virus will never disappear'

'New variants will constantly arise,' says Israeli Health Ministry Director-General Nachman Ash, emphasizing that COVID is here to stay.

Netanyahu: There are vaccines but no government

Opposition leader blames government for large number of deaths and serious COVID cases during Omicron wave.

Top health official:

Education Ministry not reporting COVID-positive students

'Health Ministry can't enforce quarantine for those who aren't testing,' says Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis, head of public health services.

Health Ministry: Vast majority of ECMO patients are unvaccinated

Of 252 COVID-19 patients who required treatment with ECMO machines, 216 were unvaccinated, Health Ministry says.

Health Ministry:

Nearly 800 doctors quarantined

Number of nurses in quarantine is double the number of doctors, 20 COVID-19 patients are on ECMO machines,

Tourism Minister takes aim at quarantine for children

Tourism Min. Razvozov aims to save Passover tourist season - by eliminating quarantine for children whose parents are vaccinated.

Honduran President tests positive for COVID-19

Honduran President announces she has tested positive for COVID-19 and will be working in isolation.

Symptoms of fifth wave:

Colds, sore throats and headaches

HMOs say the symptoms that characterize fifth COVID wave are different from those of previous waves.

New CDC study on mask efficacy under fire for methodology

'The paper is entirely, irredeemably flawed - it shouldn't have been published,' says health researcher as CDC mask study comes under fire.

COVID outbreak hits Iran's parliament

Some 50 members of Iran's 290-seat parliament contract COVID-19, says senior MP.

Erdogan tests positive for COVID-19

Turkish President says he and his wife tested positive for COVID-19 and have mild symptoms.

Shaked tests positive for COVID-19

Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked tests positive for COVID-19 just prior to scheduled TV interview.

Breakthrough COVID-19 infections offer improved immunity

Hybrid immunity resulting from infection and vaccination provides more effective protection than vaccination or infection alone.

1,213 COVID-19 patients in serious condition

Less than 38,000 new COVID-19 cases as number of critically ill reaches 370, Health Ministry says.

Cabinet approves rollback of 'green pass' restrictions

Coronavirus Cabinet approves abolition of "green pass" except in places with "extremely high risk".

Top WHO official:

'Europe is in a COVID-19 ceasefire'

WHO Europe director says Europe could soon a "long period of tranquility" from COVID.

338 COVID-related deaths in one week

Number of new COVID cases continues to fall, marking decline of Omicron wave.

Health Officials:

Israel may soon rule on COVID vaccines for kids 6 months and up

Israeli vaccine regulators may soon began deliberations on COVID vaccines for kids as young as six months, as FDA decision expected in weeks

'80% serious cases are fully vaccinated' says Ichilov director

Vaccine has "no significance regarding severe illness," says Prof. Jacob Giris.

Israel's number of COVID-19 deaths passes 9,000

Over three million infected with coronavirus since start of pandemic, 1 in every 1,000 Israelis has died of coronavirus.

Top doctor:

'We're not at the end of the wave, but I'm optimistic'

'To say peak of wave is behind us is like saying war is over when there are battles in north & south,' Hadassah's Prof. Dror Mevorach says.

US Army to discharge vaccine refusers

US Army announces that soldiers who refuse to get COVID-19 vaccine will be immediately discharged.

Study:

One-third of students will be infected with COVID-19

Researchers from Technion and Rambam Hospital publish model of new quarantine plan in Israel's schools.

Minister Merav Michaeli tests positive for COVID-19

Labor chairwoman is reportedly feeling well and continues to work from home.

Medical experts give 'second opinion' on COVID at US Senate

Senator Ron Johnson invites group of top medical experts to give different perspective on pandemic response at US Senate.

'Freezers for dead are full around Israel'

As Israel's death rates rise, burial societies struggle to keep up.

Omicron Wave In Decline?

Fewer seriously ill patients, deaths, and new COVID cases

Infection coefficient continues to decline, suggesting Omicron wave may be past its peak, with number of deaths also appearing to fall.

New BA.2 subvariant may be more infectious than Omicron

'Around 10% of COVID-19 tests sequenced are the BA.2 variant,' Health Min. Director General says.

Over 500 dead from COVID-19 in January: 'This was preventable'

'There was & still is a policy of mass infection, there will be excess mortality which could have been prevented,' Hebrew U. professor says.

Pfizer seeks US approval of vaccine for children under 5

Pfizer and BioNTech officially announce they are seeking emergency use authorization of their COVID-19 vaccine for children under age 5.

First cases of Omicron patients reinfected with BA2 strain

New, even more infectious strain of Omicron variant found among Israelis who already recovered from Omicron infection.

New meta-analysis of lockdown studies shows 0.2% impact

John Hopkins researchers note "devastating effects" of failed policies, add that studies of 1918 Spanish flu drew similar conclusions.

Cabinet cancels Green Pass except at 'high-risk' events

COVID Cabinet terminates previous Green Pass outline, makes Green Passes permanent for people with 3 or more vaccine doses.

Bennett: A difficult week-and-a-half ahead

PM at COVID Cabinet meeting says govt. not rushing to lockdowns as if COVID was the end of the world, but not complacent either.

In the next few weeks:

Between 100-200 Israeli children expected to develop PIMS

'Still too early to compare PIMS after Omicron versus after Delta, but PIMS doesn't happen after vaccine,' coronavirus czar says.

Report:

Pfizer to ask FDA to approve vaccine for children 0-5

Pfizer, BioNTech, expected to request emergency use authorization for 2-dose COVID-19 vaccine series for children 6 months to 5 years.

Joe Rogan reacts to Spotify controversy

Popular podcaster notes that many things considered 'misinformation' a short while ago are now accepted as fact.

Hebrew University Study:

Stressed COVID frontline workers face mental health issues

Stress and smoking rates up among all hospital workers, new Hebrew University study finds.

Nearly 230 COVID-19 deaths in one week

Over 67,500 new coronavirus cases, nearly 2,800 hospitalized.

Novavax asks FDA to authorize its COVID-19 vaccine

Novavax files for emergency use authorization of its COVID-19 vaccine for US adults.

FDA fully approves Moderna COVID vaccine

Moderna vaccine becomes 2nd COVID vaccine to be fully approved for adults by the FDA, about 1/2 year after the Pfizer vaccine was approved.

From tomorrow: People 30 and up can take PCR tests

A month after PCR tests were only for those aged 60 and over, the Ministry of Health announced a change in policy.

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau tests positive for COVID-19

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urges everyone to go get vaccinated after testing positive for COVID-19.

Increase in complications for children recovered from Omicron

Number of severe COVID-19 cases has not yet peaked, but reports of Omicron's neurological side effects are becoming more common.

Education Ministry admits: 'No way of enforcing plan'

'State gave responsibility over to the public, those without have test kids must follow previous plan,' Ed. Min. Director General says.

Infection rate hits new high as 74,312 new cases diagnosed

29.73% of COVID tests return positive, as number of seriously ill patients falls slightly.

Esther Pollard passes away

Esther Pollard, wife of Jonathan Pollard, passes away after battling cancer and COVID-19.

Health Ministry worried about post-Coronavirus conditions

Children who recovered from COVID-19 are starting to come down with a secondary condition that has Israeli health authorities worried.

Strike averted as Teachers' Union reaches agreement

Antigen tests to be handed out to teachers as well as students; results to be verified via spot checks.