Is Israel on the verge of a new COVID-19 outbreak?
cnxps.cmd.push(function () { cnxps({ playerId: '36af7c51-0caf-4741-9824-2c941fc6c17b' }).render('4c4d856e0e6f4e3d808bbc1715e132f6'); });  if(window.location.pathname.indexOf("656089") != -1){console.log("hedva connatix");document.getElementsByClassName("divConnatix")[0].style.display ="none";}  After a year of COVID-19, it is easy to hit the panic button when it comes to mini-outbreaks. But such brief surges are completely expected and it is not yet time to raise a red flag, health experts told The Jerusalem Post.On Sunday, the entire audience of a performance in Beit Shean were asked to enter quarantine after discovering an attendee was coronavirus-positive. At the same time, the Health Ministry reported outbreaks at multiple schools.As long as we have travel inside and outside of Israel, then we will have outbreaks among people  vaccinated and unvaccinated  and primarily among students, Prof. Eyal Leshem, director of the Center for Travel Medicine and Tropical Diseases at Sheba Medical Center, told the Post.The headline should be that this is not surprising, stressed Prof. Eran Segal, a computational biologist from the Weizmann Institute of Science.And Tomer Lotan, outgoing head of the Magen Israel program, said that he does not expect these latest outbreaks to lead to any change in Health Ministry policy.This is despite concerns that the more virulent Delta variant  formerly known as the Indian variant  appears to be the cause of at least some recent cases.The Coronavirus National Information and Knowledge Center said that the Delta variant is 60% more contagious than the British variant and causes 2.5 more hospitalizations in a report it released Sunday morning. The report called for resolute action to prevent the variant from entering the country and spreading.However, health officials said that the Pfizer vaccine with which more than 5.4 million Israelis are inoculated appears to be highly effective against the Delta variant, in particular with regard to stopping severe disease.A study published by Public Health England showed that the Pfizer vaccine is at least 88% effective against symptomatic disease from the variant two weeks after the second dose, compared to 93% effectiveness against the British variant and 95% against the original strain.As such, Leshem said that these latest outbreaks tell us that this is what the future is going to look like: People who are unvaccinated can get infected and people who are fully vaccinated could get infected but will be protected from severe disease.He said, with more than 90% of Israelis over the age of 50 inoculated, these outbreaks do not pose a risk to public health.So, I think we should follow the developments, but otherwise we are business as usual, Segal said.However, it should be noted that among the people infected during the recent outbreaks, as many as one-third were vaccinated, according to Cyrille Cohen, head of the immunotherapy laboratory at Bar-Ilan University.As such, he said that the country should consider taking some additional steps to protect Israel from a new coronavirus wave.We need to be much more stringent at the border, he told the Post, recommending that travelers entering Israel take not only a PCR test with results that are delivered within 24 hours, but also a rapid test to try to screen anyone who might be vaccinated by carrying the virus.People can infect others while they are waiting for the PCR test answer, he said. Rapid tests can filter out 80% to 90% of the cases.He also recommended implementing mandatory testing a few days after arrival to catch any cases that might get through at the airport.The Health Ministry is considering changing the recommendation regarding vaccinating youth 12-15, a spokesperson for Prof. Nachman Ash told the Post. We may move to a stronger recommendation for children, Ashs spokeswoman confirmed.I think if we cleared the vaccine in terms of safety and we are confident  and I believe this is the case  then it is beneficial to get kids vaccinated, Segal told the Post. He added that while most children experience only mild symptoms, some experience unpleasant and even long-term effects from COVID-19.On Sunday, Clalit reported a near 100% increase in 12- to 15-year-olds requesting to get the jab.The more kids are vaccinated, the less disease will spread.To date, around 35% of eligible Israelis are not vaccinated against COVID-19. Leshem said he hopes these outbreaks will encourage people who are not vaccinated to get inoculated.The results of the genetic sequencing of the recent outbreaks are still being completed. When the results are in, the country will be smarter in order to know if we have to adjust policies, Lotan said.If we see more and more schools joining the situation and get more evidence of the Delta variant [spreading], then we would need to be more concerned. But this is not the case now, Lotan added.For now, lets keep cool and calm.