Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein were present on Monday morning as the fifth millionth Israeli citizen was vaccinated. Janet Lavi-Azulay, a 34-year-old pregnant woman from Petach Tikvah, was the fifth millionth Israeli to be vaccinated. She was asked by Kan News if she’s nervous about getting vaccinated while pregnant and she responded: “The risk of the coronavirus is much greater – that’s for sure.” “We’re working on bringing in tens of millions more vaccines,” Netanyahu said at the event. “Soon we’ll have vaccines approved for children under the age of 16 and we also still have another million Israelis over the age of 16 to be vaccinated. Our estimate is that we’ll vaccinate everyone by April and we’ll emerge from the pandemic.

Syrian President Bashar Assad and his wife have tested positive for the coronavirus, the president’s office said Monday, with both having only mild symptoms of the illness. In a statement, Assad’s office said the first couple did PCR tests after they felt minor symptoms consistent with the COVID-19 illness. It said that Assad, 55, and his 45-year-old wife Asma, who is a breast cancer survivor, will return to work after spending between two to three weeks in isolation in their home. Both were in “good health and in stable condition,” it added. Syria, which marks 10 years of war next week, has recorded nearly 16,000 virus cases in government-held parts of the country as well as 1,063 deaths, but the numbers are believed to be much higher with limited amounts of PCR tests being done.

Coronavirus death rates are ten times higher in countries where over 50% of the adults are overweight, according to a new study published by the World Obesity Foundation last week. “Globally, at the end of 2020, COVID-19 mortality rates were more than ten times higher in countries where overweight prevalence exceeds 50% of adults (weighted average 66.8 deaths per 100,000 adults) compared with countries where overweight prevalence is below 50% of adults (weighted average of 4.5 deaths per 100,000 adults),” the World Obesity Foundation wrote. The US and the UK, which both lead the list of the countries with the highest obesity rates in the world, also lead the list for the highest COVID death rates.

The Vaxi Taxi was a godsend for Leslie Reid. The 48-year-old stagehand wanted to get a COVID-19 shot, but he was worried about riding public transport to the vaccination center because his immune system had been weakened by a bout with flesh-eating bacteria that almost cost him his arm. So Reid jumped at the opportunity when his doctor called and offered him the shot, together with door-to-door transportation. “I was one of the fortunate ones,’’ he said after being inoculated inside a black van cab at a community vaccination event in north London. “I’m sure there are plenty more vulnerable people than me that should have gotten this. What can I say?

Swedish police on Saturday dispersed hundreds of people who had gathered in central Stockholm to protest coronavirus restrictions set by the Swedish government. Swedish authorities said the demonstration — the first major protest against the country’s coronavirus restrictions — was illegal as it was held without permission. Stockholm police said on their website they decided to cut short the gathering just after it started when the number of participants exceeded the limits for public gatherings under Sweden’s pandemic laws. Video footage on Swedish media showed a sizable number without masks gathering in Medborgarplatsen square not far from the capital’s Old Town. Local media estimated 300 to 500 people attended.

The leader of Canada’s most populous province expressed irritation Thursday with the U.S. refusal to ship vaccines north of the border, saying he’d hoped for a change of stance with a new American president, but it remains “every person for themselves.” The U.S. so far isn’t allowing locally made vaccines to be exported, so Canada — like the other U.S. neighbor, Mexico — has been forced to get vaccines from Europe and Asia. “I thought I’d see a little bit of a change with the administration but again it’s every person for themselves out there,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said. Ford called the U.S.

The virus swept through a nursery school and an adjacent elementary school in the Milan suburb of Bollate with amazing speed. In a matter of just days, 45 children and 14 staff members had tested positive. Genetic analysis confirmed what officials already suspected: The highly contagious coronavirus variant first identified in England was racing through the community, a densely packed city of nearly 40,000 with a chemical plant and a Pirelli bicycle tire factory a 15-minute drive from the heart of Milan. “This demonstrates that the virus has a sort of intelligence. … We can put up all the barriers in the world and imagine that they work, but in the end, it adapts and penetrates them,” lamented Bollate Mayor Francesco Vassallo.

When will children be able to get COVID-19 vaccines? It depends on the child’s age, but some teenagers could be rolling up their sleeves before too long. The Pfizer vaccine already is cleared for use starting at age 16. That means some high schoolers could get in line for those shots whenever they become eligible in their area, either because of a medical condition or once availability opens up. Pfizer and Moderna both have completed enrollment for studies of children ages 12 and older, and expect to release the data over the summer. If regulators clear the results, younger teens likewise could start getting vaccinated once supply allows. The Moderna vaccine is currently cleared for people 18 and older.

The coronavirus ward in Laniado Hospital in Kiryat Sanz, Netanya currently has 31 coronavirus patients, of whom 17 are in serious condition, with six ventilated. The average age of the patients ranges from 45-51. “One hundred percent of the seriously ill coronavirus patients in Laniado weren’t vaccinated or were vaccinated with only one dose [before they became ill],” said Prof. Tzvi Shimoni, the hospital’s medical director. “These are patients of varying ages, including young patients. I believe that not getting vaccinated is a real danger to life, especially in the current situation when schools, businesses, and cultural instituations are opening.” “I see the relatives after their loved ones are hospitalized.

South African variant cases in Israel have increased to almost 500, and health officials believe that it is spreading beyond control, with dozens of new cases being diagnosed every day, Haaretz reported. Although Israel has closed its borders in an effort to prevent virus variants from entering the country, the South African variant entered months ago, with many Israelis bringing it back from the United Arab Emirates and Turkey. Now dozens of cases have been identified in random testing, meaning that cases are being diagnosed in Israelis who haven’t been abroad or in contact with those who traveled abroad. Health officials are particularly worried about the South African variant as it is been proven to be more resistant to the current vaccines.