Israel has suffered four and a half million confirmed cases of Corona Virus since the outbreak began in late 2019. New Omicron variants have dominated recent local news, although the public appetite for consuming latest reports has steadily dwindled.

Israel’s lack of government since the collapse of the coalition has led to public obeisance of ministerial health decrees grounding to a halt. Over eleven thousand Israeli deaths have failed to make an impact upon current reaction towards taking safety precautions when out in public. The general feeling is one of being neglected by governmental departments responsible for public order in the health sector, as the focus turns more towards alignment with policies that can help gain seats in the up coming national election. This state of stagnation is further exasperated by confusion over whether another booster shot is in the works for those most vulnerable to the virus.

The last round of booster shots took place early in the year. Public expectancy for the vaccination coverage was around 6 months. Accordingly, Israel is now edging past the half yearly mark for protection against the virus. A combination of factors is currently affecting the public mood towards the status of new variants. First and foremost is the waning of public interest, partially due to lack of disseminated information from reliable sources about the current status of the virus. One common response is that the health industry is playing a waiting game to see how effective the fourth round of booster shots will be against new strains of Corona.
Due to previous distaste for lockdowns, many politicians have played down concerns about public safety over the virus.

Indeed, as border regulations have been eased allowing potentially affected carriers to slip into the country and spread the new strains throughout Israel, one can only wonder how successful the politicians will be should a new outbreak prove as deadly as previous ones?