Division of Health Information, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel.
Isr J Health Policy Res. 2022 May 31;11(1):24. doi: 10.1186/s13584-022-00533-w.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused four waves of infection in Israel until October 2021. Israel was the first country to offer vaccinations to all the adult population followed by boosters. This study addresses how mortality rates reflect the effects of the pandemic.
Total mortality rates and rates of mortality without COVID-19 deaths (non-COVID-19 mortality) between March 2020 and October 2021 were compared with the average pre-COVID-19 rates in 2017-2019 by month, population group and by age group. In addition, a cohort vaccinated at least once by 31 March 2021 was followed up for mortality in the following seven months compared to the corresponding months in 2017-2019.
A small number of excess deaths was found in the first wave and a greater excess in the following waves. The monthly mortality rate ratio was highest in October 2020, 23% higher than the average in 2017-2019, followed by August 2021 (22%), September 2021 (20%) and September 2020 (19%). Excess mortality in the Arab population was greater than for Jews and Others, and they had 65% and 43% higher mortality in September and October, 2020, 20-44% higher mortality between December 2020 and April 2021 and 33%, 45% and 22% higher mortality in August, September and October 2021, respectively. In most months of the pandemic, the non-COVID-19 mortality rates were not significantly different from those in 2017-2019. However, between November 2020 and March 2021, they were significantly lower for the total population and Jews and Others. They were significantly higher for the total population only in August 2021, and particularly for the Arab population. Non-COVID-19 mortality was also lower for most sex/age groups over the total study period. In a cohort of 5.07 million Israeli citizens vaccinated at least once by 31 March, 2021, age adjusted and age specific mortality rates for the following 7 months were lower than the average rates in 2017-2019 for these months, CONCLUSION: Israel has seen significant excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in the Arab sector. Following lockdowns and administration of vaccinations excess mortality was reduced, and no excess mortality was seen amongst the vaccinated in the months after the vaccination campaign. These findings highlight the importance of public health measures such as mandating mask wearing and population vaccinations to control infection and reduce mortality.
COVID-19 大流行在 2021 年 10 月之前导致以色列经历了四波感染。以色列是第一个为所有成年人口接种疫苗的国家，随后进行了加强针接种。本研究旨在探讨死亡率如何反映大流行的影响。
比较 2020 年 3 月至 2021 年 10 月期间的总死亡率和无 COVID-19 死亡的死亡率（非 COVID-19 死亡率）与 2017-2019 年同期的平均水平，按月、人群和年龄组进行比较。此外，对至少在 2021 年 3 月 31 日接种过一次疫苗的队列进行了随访，比较了接下来七个月的死亡率与 2017-2019 年同期的死亡率。
在第一波疫情中发现了少量的超额死亡，随后几波疫情中的超额死亡更多。2020 年 10 月的月度死亡率比平均值高出 23%，其次是 2021 年 8 月（22%）、2021 年 9 月（20%）和 2020 年 9 月（19%）。阿拉伯人口的超额死亡率高于犹太人，他们在 2020 年 9 月和 10 月的死亡率分别高出 65%和 43%，2020 年 12 月至 2021 年 4 月之间的死亡率高出 20-44%，2021 年 8 月、9 月和 10 月的死亡率分别高出 33%、45%和 22%。在大流行的大多数月份，非 COVID-19 死亡率与 2017-2019 年相比没有显著差异。然而，在 2020 年 11 月至 2021 年 3 月期间，总人口和犹太人的非 COVID-19 死亡率显著降低。总人口的非 COVID-19 死亡率仅在 2021 年 8 月显著升高，尤其是在阿拉伯人口中。大多数性别/年龄组的非 COVID-19 死亡率在整个研究期间也较低。在一个至少在 2021 年 3 月 31 日接种过一次疫苗的 507 万以色列公民队列中，以下 7 个月的年龄调整和特定年龄死亡率低于这些月份 2017-2019 年的平均水平。
以色列在 COVID-19 大流行期间经历了显著的超额死亡率，特别是在阿拉伯地区。在封锁和疫苗接种管理之后，超额死亡率有所降低，在疫苗接种运动后的几个月里，接种疫苗的人群中没有出现超额死亡率。这些发现强调了公共卫生措施的重要性，例如强制佩戴口罩和人群接种疫苗，以控制感染并降低死亡率。
