‘Rahav [Galia Rahav, the head of the infectious-disease unit at Tel Aviv’s Sheba Medical Center] attributes the soaring rate of infection in the general population to the weariness of Israelis — on their third or fourth lockdown, depending on how you count — with having their children at home, restrictions limiting them to 1,000 yards from their homes, and of the “politicization” of the ever-shifting rules of confinement.
‘Like many other countries, Israel launched its vaccination campaign with the two most vulnerable sectors: frontline medical workers and citizens over the age of 65. In January, as jubilant grandparents and ambulance drivers got vaccinated, and slowly stopped falling ill, younger and less cautious Israelis flouted caution — turning themselves into spreaders just as the highly infectious British mutation of the virus wafted into the country.’
Read here (New York magazine, Feb 7, 2021)