The head of the public health services at the Health Ministry, Dr. Sharon Elrai-Price, warned Tuesday during a briefing that a single dose of the coronavirus vaccine does not provide sufficient protection against infection from the virus.
Dr. Elrai-Price noted that 17% of the severely ill patients who are currently hospitalized are patients who received a first dose of the vaccine before their hospitalization.
The data show that to date, 4,500 people have been diagnosed with the coronavirus after having received the first vaccine dose, of whom 375 have been hospitalized due to the disease.
Of those hospitalized, 244 were hospitalized in the first week after their vaccination. 124 in the second week and seven more than 15 days from when they received the vaccine.
"The number of verified cases has reached a new high, we have passed the point of 9,000 positive tests. There has never been such a figure," said Dr. Elrai-Price.
"The British mutation is spreading in the community, not just in people who have returned from England. There is no doubt that part of the increase in morbidity is due to the mutation," Elrai-Price added, clarifying that the morbidity rates would not be brought down quickly.
Both the Pfizer and Moderna coronavirus vaccines require two doses to reach their full level of effectiveness.