New evidence that it may be safe for schools to seat students 3 feet apart — half of the previous recommended distance — could offer a way to return more of the nation’s children to classrooms with limited space. Even as more teachers receive vaccinations against COVID-19, social distancing guidelines have remained a major hurdle for districts across the U.S. Debate around the issue flared last week when a study suggested that masked students can be seated as close as 3 feet apart with no increased risk to them or teachers. Published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, the research looked at schools in Massachusetts, which has backed the 3-foot guideline for months.

Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis, the head of the Health Ministry’s Public Health division, said that as Israel’s infection rate reaches a new low, the main risk is now the entry of new variants that are resistant to coronavirus vaccines. “The issue that scares us most is the entry of variants,” she said at a press briefing on Monday, explaining that the vaccine is effective against the British variant, which is currently behind 90% of the cases in Israel but is less effective against the South African variant (behind 1% of cases). “We’re afraid other variants that are resistant to vaccines will enter Israel.” Alroy-Preis said that variants could infect children under 16, who aren’t yet approved to be vaccinated, as well as other unvaccinated Israelis.

Women who are vaccinated against the coronavirus during pregnancy pass COVID antibodies to their babies, a study by researchers at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem shows. A study of women who received both doses of the Pfizer vaccines during their third trimester of pregnancy found that the women and their newborns had similar antibody levels, as mothers transferred their antibodies to their babies via placental transfer. “Our findings highlight that vaccination of pregnant women may provide maternal and neonatal protection from SARS-CoV-2 infection,” the researchers wrote The study, the largest of its kind to date, is drawing considerable international interest, according to a report by Israel’s Channel 12 News.

Coronavirus czar Prof. Nachman Ash said on Monday that Israel could reach herd immunity when at least seven million Israelis are vaccinated. “That means children will also need to be vaccinated,” Ash told Ynet. “I hope that will happen in the summer [for children above age 12]. We’re waiting for the results of Pfizer’s research on the subject.” Currently, there are almost 5.2 million Israelis who are vaccinated, about 55% of the total population, of whom 4.2 million are fully vaccinated. Children under age 16, who cannot yet be vaccinated, comprise about 30% of Israel’s general population [20% of whom are above age 12], and about 50% of the Chareidi population in Israel.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Monday picked his fourth health minister since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, amid the worst throes of the disease in the country yet and after a series of errors decried by public health experts. Marcelo Queiroga, the president of the Brazilian Society of Cardiology, will replace Eduardo Pazuello, an active-duty army general with expertise in logistics who landed the position last May despite having no prior health experience. Earlier Monday, Pazuello acknowledged in a press conference that Bolsonaro aimed to replace him. The first candidate for the job, cardiologist Ludhmila Hajjar, rejected it.

A cascading number of European countries — including Germany, France, Italy and Spain — suspended use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine Monday over reports of dangerous blood clots in some recipients, though the company and international regulators say there is no evidence the shot is to blame. AstraZeneca’s formula is one of three vaccines in use on the continent. But the escalating concern is another setback for the European Union’s vaccination drive, which has been plagued by shortages and other hurdles and is lagging well behind the campaigns in Britain and the U.S. The EU’s drug regulatory agency called a meeting for Thursday to review experts’ findings on the AstraZeneca shot and decide whether action needs to be taken.

In this rural swath of Virginia’s Shenandoah valley, former President Donald Trump remains deeply admired, with lawn signs and campaign flags still dotting the landscape. The vaccines aimed at taming the coronavirus, however, aren’t so popular. Laura Biggs, a 56-year-old who has already recovered from the virus, is wary of taking the vaccine. Reassurances from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration have done little to ease her alarm that the vaccine could lead to death. “The way I feel about it is: I don’t need the vaccine at this point,” she said. “And I’m not going to get the vaccine until it is well established.” That sentiment demonstrates the challenge ahead for public health officials as the U.S.

As Israel’s economy reopens on the background of a plummeting national infection rate following a successful vaccination campaign, the question is how long will the effect of the vaccines last? Officially, the vaccine certificate is valid for six months. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said that Israelis may need to get vaccinated twice this year for this reason and he’s working on bringing 36 million more vaccines to Israel over the next year. However, recent studies seem to indicate that the vaccine will be effective for longer than six months.

Only three months after the start of Israel’s vaccination campaign, when Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv had six full coronavirus wards, including two intensive care units, the hospital closed its last virus ward on Monday. The remaining 18 coronavirus patients (none of whom were fully vaccinated before contracting the virus) will be transferred to designated areas within the Internal ICU Unit and the ECMO department in the general ICU. The underground coronavirus ward at Rambam Hospital in Haifa, which opened at the end of September, is also closing. The remaining 20 patients will be transferred to the coronavirus wards within the hospital. מתחילים לראות את הסוף? ברמב"ם ייסגר מחר בית החולים התת קרקעי לחולי קורונה, שנפתח סמוך ליום כיפור. מספר החולים, עמד בימים האחרונים על כ-20 בלבד.

An arrest warrant was issued for a woman who refused to wear a mask at a Texas bank, saying to a police officer: “What are you going to do, arrest me?” Police have issued a warrant for the arrest of Terry Wright, 65, of Grants Pass, Oregon. The incident on Thursday at a Bank of America in Galveston was captured by the officer’s body camera, The Galveston County Daily News reported. Police say they’ve obtained an arrest warrant on resisting arrest and criminal trespassing charges. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday ended statewide orders requiring people to wear face masks in public places, declaring that businesses should decide for themselves what COVID-19 precautions to take on their properties. Many businesses have kept their own mask rules in place.