Israeli COVID-19 data and outreach to play a growing role in U.S. and abroad
The Story:
- A key decision by the U.S. FDA this week will likely rely heavily on Israeli data
- Israel continues to ramp up aid to India, focusing especially on one type of medical device
- The New York Jewish Federation is following Israel’s lead and sending aid of its own to India
As the U.S. prepares to make its key decision on whether to allow Americans aged 12 to 15 to receive COVID-19 vaccines, Israeli data on the effectiveness of at least one of those vaccines will likely play a key role in the decision by the FDA.
In March, Israel reported that more than 600 Israelis aged 12 to 16 received the two Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine injections. None of them reported any serious side effects.
Israeli health officials will launch a vaccination drive for all of its teens in 12–15 age group as soon as U.S. approves it for its population.
Meanwhile, Israel will continue its efforts to aid India as that nation deals with record numbers of daily COVID-19 cases and an alarming rise in deaths from the virus. Israel is focusing on sending India oxygen supplies, which are a high priority need at the moment. An Indian Air Force aircraft carrying 360 oxygen concentrators and three large oxygen generator plants left Ben-Gurion Airport for India on Friday afternoon. Expect Israel’s efforts for India to ramp up in the coming days.
At the same time, the UJA-Federation of New York announced $200,000 in grants to four organizations working on COVID relief efforts in India. The funding includes a $60,000 grant to the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee for a partnership with the Israeli government to provide Israeli-made ventilators to hospitals in India. Other American Jewish groups will likely follow suit in the coming days and weeks.
Our Statements:
Suggested Guests from our “Speaker Bureau”:
Dr. Nachman Ash (“Israels Dr. Fauci”)
Israeli Coronavirus Commissioner
Dr. Gilli Regev-Yochay
Director, Infection Prevention and Control Unit — Sheba Medical Center
