While Australia fiddles, Israel has vaccinated 30% of 12-15s

ITTAY FLESCHER: As the Morrison government struggles to get adults vaccinated, Israel is rolling out an aggressive campaign to give the jab to people 12-15

AS MANY COUNTRIES struggle to source vaccinations for their adult and vulnerable populations, 29 per cent of the 12-15 age group in Israel has been vaccinated, along with 11 per cent who have contracted Covid and recovered. This brings the immunity rate for this cohort to 40 per cent; below the 50 per cent the Health Ministry had hoped for but still an impressive achievement in less than three months.

Since February, Israel has made the Pfizer vaccine available and free to all citizens over 16, including undocumented refugees, and is the most vaccinated country in the world. The US, Singapore, Japan, the UAE, Chile, Philippines and Israel are the only countries vaccinating under 16s.

On Monday, Israel will become the first country in the world to offer a third dose of Pfizer and BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine as a booster shot for people with weakened immune systems.

The surge of the Delta variant, that has led to a dramatic global increase in cases, is not the only reason so many teens in Israel are willingly getting their shots. There has been a concerted campaign targeting teens, including a promotional video made by youth movements and a photo of Naftali Bennett’s 14-year-old daughter being vaccinated that were both shared from the Prime Minister’s official Facebook account this week.