Britain pools medical expertise with Israel as two countries lead race to be first to emerge from pandemic

BRITAIN is pooling its medical expertise with Israel as the two countries lead the race to be first to emerge from the pandemic.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has spoken to his opposite number Yuli Edelstein to share plans for defeating the virus.

Israel is on course to have a quarter of its population vaccinated by this week thanks to its high-tech medical service.

The programme was rolled out fast, aided by the world’s best paperless records system stripped of red-tape.

It means a nation the size of Wales will soon be giving more jabs daily than Germany, France and Italy combined.

Patients are summoned for their treatment by text message or app alert.

It puts the state on course to be the first to protect its entire population.

A time-saving computer system tells health workers which patients are first.

Mr Hancock and Mr Edelstein spoke to share best practice and up the pace.

UK vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said: “We learned the speed at which they vaccinate — about four minutes per patient. That’s the sort of target we want.”

NHS patients can book a jab only if they have received a letter.



Dr Asher Salmon of Israel’s health ministry said: “Technological tools are integral in targeting patients.”

Sir John Bell, of Oxford University, said: “The Israelis are good at getting on a war footing.”

A British government spokesman said: “We’re learning from each other.”

Hope for 2021 by Tzipi Hotovely, Israeli Ambassador to London

ISRAEL’S vaccination programme is leading the world, and has been singled out for praise by many here in Britain.

We have vaccinated almost a quarter of our population in a matter of weeks, far ahead of anywhere else, and expect to see every single Israeli protected by the end of March.

From sports stadiums to drive in vaccination centres, our government is striving to get jabs to people in every way that we can.

Our top scientists have ingeniously worked out how to split up super chilled vaccine shots into pizza box-sized batches, so we can easily deliver small numbers to care homes and minimise wastage.

Behind the success of our vaccination drive is Israel’s tradition of national duty, which really comes to the fore during times of crisis.

Our forces and public services are supporting our hardworking doctors and nurses to get doses into the arms of Israelis as quickly as possible.

We also have a modern and flexible universal healthcare system.

Our technologists digitised doctors’ records decades ago, enabling us to automatically prioritise those most at risk from this terrible virus.

We are notifying Israelis that they are being called up for vaccination by pinging appointments to their mobiles, helping to ensure that they are kept.

As Israel’s Ambassador, I am proud that we are sharing our recipe for success with the United Kingdom, one of our oldest and dearest friends.

Last week, our Health Secretaries spoke together and agreed to strengthen our cooperation, which will save countless lives.

Soon, we Israelis will benefit from British ingenuity.

In addition to Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines, Israel hopes to administer ten million doses of your Oxford-AstraZeneca jab in the not too distant future.

We Israelis trust modern science and medicine to help us beat this pandemic once and for all.

Like you rely on your NHS, we are counting on ours to rescue us from a cycle of lockdowns and misery.

2020 was a difficult year for both our democracies.

By bringing together Britain’s vaccine and Israel’s experience, 2021 promises to be better.

We can restart travel and tourism, reopen bars and restaurants, and reboot our economies.

And when we do so, just as many Israelis look forward to visiting London, we Israelis look forward to warmly welcoming Sun on Sunday readers on holiday to our capital, Jerusalem.

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