Coronavirus cases in Israel are finally beginning to decline from record highs after it vaccinated 27% of its population

• Israel has vaccinated approximately 27% of its citizens — about 2.43 million people of its population of 9 million. 
• More than 550,000 people in the country have already had COVID-19, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
• Israel is nowhere near COVID-19 free, but both the seven-day and three-day moving averages of new cases have declined.
• While it has vaccinated more people per-capita than any country around the globe, Israel’s plan has drawn criticism for its exclusion of Palestinians living in Gaza and the West Bank.
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Israel has vaccinated more than a quarter of its population against COVID-19, and cases of the disease are finally beginning to decline following a surge that prompted a nationwide lockdown. 

More than 2.43 million people in Israel have now received at least one dose of the two-dose vaccines. That’s about 27% of the country, according to data from Our World In Data. The country reported 8,190 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, down from a record 9,997 cases on January 13, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Israel has vaccinated the highest proportion of its population of any country in the world, and has been touted as a success as other nations, especially the US, face hurdles with their rollouts. Israel benefits from having a relatively small and densely populated country, as well as from a centralized and digital-savvy national health system, as Insider’s Susie Neilson reported.

As Reuters reported Monday, the Israeli government is sharing data with vaccine-manufacturer Pfizer and BioNTech in an effort to assist other nations.

“While this project is conducted in Israel, the insights gained will be applicable around the world and we anticipate will allow governments to maximize the public health impact of their vaccination campaigns,” BioNTech said Monday in a statement, as Reuters reported.

Coronavirus vaccines are given as two shots, spaced three or four weeks apart. While people may get some protection after the first shot, both doses are required for the immunizations to be highly effective.

Over 550,000 people in the country have already had the coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins, meaning that they’re likely to have some protection from the disease as well. More than 4,000 people in Israel have died since the pandemic began early last year, according to Hopkins.

Read more: How pharmacies and retailers like Walmart, Kroger, and Rite Aid could benefit from the vaccination push

The seven-day averages of new cases of COVID-19 in Israel has declined as well, showing the country’s outbreak may be waning, according to data from Worldometer. The seven-day average sits at 8,144 as of Sunday, down from 8,395 on January 13.

While Israel is leading the globe in per-capita vaccinations, its rollout has not come without criticism, as ABC News noted, because the country’s vaccination plan has excluded the 5 million Palestinians living in Gaza and the West Bank.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier in January that he believed Israel would be the first country to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, planning to vaccinate the country’s entire population by March. Other nations like New Zealand and Australia, however, have had long-term success with their mitigation strategies, even without access to a vaccine.

Israeli officials are expected to extend the lockdown order, which is currently slated to end Thursday, The Times of Israel reported Sunday.