Cases, Deaths Climb While Vaccinations Proceed in Israel 

Israel is closing in on 2 million vaccinated citizens, in the largest and swiftest vaccination effort the world has seen. On Thursday, tens of thousands more Israelis received a shot of the vaccine against the coronavirus, despite the health ministry’s admission that the pace of inoculation had significantly slowed over the past week. Notwithstanding the rapid vaccination operation, Israel’s third wave of infections on Thursday showed no signs of abating. Nearly 10,000 new infections were registered over the past 24 hours, with close to 8% of all coronavirus tests returning positive. An average of 35 people have died every day over the past two weeks, the highest daily average since the pandemic began. In the coming days, the government will convene yet again to determine whether to extend the national lockdown imposed for the third time in Israel. All places of business and the entire national school system were ordered shut last month because of the climbing infection rates.