It would be one thing if COVID was spreading through the unvaccinated. But the Delta variant has made its way through the relatively wealthier, well-jabbed parts of Israeli society: among older people who travel and socialize, according to Professor Doron Gazit, member of a COVID-19 monitoring team at Hebrew University. ‘They were also the ones who had been vaccinated early on, and the protection against infection was waning. Then their children and grandchildren took COVID to school,’ he says.

At first, the government was slow to react because the rise in infections barely translated into a rise in hospitalizations, serious illness or deaths. When those began to rise slowly as well, it was mainly among the small proportion of non-vaccinated adults. Even now, the number of serious cases is still much lower than in the previous wave (of the Kent/UK variant) — but by now, nearly a million and a half booster shots have been given, boosting the immunity of those people who received vaccines early on.

After three long lockdowns, and under a new government, Israelis are loath to accept that their newfound freedoms could be rescinded. The third vaccine ‘booster’ option was activated even though no other country or medical regulation agency (such as the FDA) had endorsed it.