ByMAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMAN

Israel jumped nine spots and moved into the top five of Bloomberg’s COVID Resilience Ranking last week.

The ranking evaluates 53 countries based on a number of key data points to determine where coronavirus is being handled most effectively. Bloomberg looks at which countries have the lowest mortality rates and the highest testing and vaccination rates, as well as the lowest level of economic and social disruptions.

Israel moved into slot No. 5, placing it just under New Zealand, Singapore, Australia and Taiwan – countries that have ranked well since Bloomberg rolled out the ranking in November 2020. These countries acted earlier to stop the spread of the virus and have better managed to keep it in check over the past year to allow for a higher quality of life for its citizens.

The country achieved its success after a three-month mass vaccination campaign, the fastest in the world. Last week, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein announced that more than half of the Israeli population had received two shots of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine.

“Israel is the first new entrant into the top of the Resilience Ranking since Bloomberg started keeping track in November, with the pantheon of COVID success stories dominated by economies in the Asia-Pacific,” a report by Bloomberg explained. “But unlike many top-performing places where entry is tightly policed to keep the coronavirus out, Israel’s vaccine-driven normalization means it’s easing border curbs quickly.”

Israel opened its skies completely beginning on March 20 to allow all Israeli citizens to enter the country and cast their ballots for a new government. No new restrictions have been implemented since the election last Tuesday. The cabinet was slated to meet at the request of top Health Ministry officials on Monday, but that meeting was cancelled due to a disagreement between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz.

Discussion was supposed to include the purchase of additional vaccines. It had not been indicated whether the situation at the airports would have also been evaluated.

On Sunday night, Head of Public Health Services Sharon Alroy-Preis said in an interview with Channel 12 that Israel has already seen some mutations enter Israel from abroad and "it worries us."
 

Bloomberg analysts said that they believe new variants – most likely to enter Israel through Ben-Gurion Airport – could threaten vaccine progress and fuel new waves.

“The more the coronavirus spreads unchecked, the more opportunity there is for dangerous mutations to develop. Some existing vaccines have already been shown to be less effective against new variants like the one from South Africa, and the chance of a new mutation entering a vaccinated country and igniting a new wave cannot be discounted,” Bloomberg wrote.

“The sustainability of these vaccine-driven revivals will be the key focus into April, when we’ll update the COVID Resilience Ranking again.” 

Other countries that also improved in their rankings due to vaccination efforts include the United States, United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates. In those countries, at least a fifth of their populations have been jabbed.