ToI’s weekly COVID update: 495,000 vaccinated as Israel leads world per capita * Are Shabbat shots kosher? * Drive-thru voting for COVID carrier s * Blog: I miss shopping!

[Times of Israel]( [Battling COVID: Weekly Update]( Tuesday, December 29, 2020 [Israel nears 500,000 vaccinated, in new daily record; teachers to be prioritized]( By [TOI staff]( [Health minister insists ‘there’ll be no shortage,’ with Netanyahu said to be in contact with Pfizer to ensure stocks don’t run low in January]( [Forced hotel quarantine said likely to be nixed, as dozens try to break out]( By [TOI staff]( [Lockdown lite: Closure sees patchy compliance, has little impact on traffic]( By [TOI staff]( [MK warns of spiritual side effects as vaccination drive continues on Shabbat]( By [Nathan Jeffay]( [All 4 HMOs vaccinate over-60s on sabbath; rabbis say clinics’ computers violate rules]( [‘This is no lockdown,’ top health official says as school, workplaces stay open]( By [TOI staff]( [Ahead of lockdown, Jerusalem hospitals near to capacity for COVID-19 patients]( By [TOI staff]( [With drive-thrus for voters with COVID, Israel prepares for election in pandemic]( By [TOI staff]( [Elections committee director promises 30% more polling stations, and 2 booths at each, to reduce crowds at March 2021 vote; nursing homes, virus wards to get own booths]( [Lockdown, tight schedule threaten primaries in upcoming elections]( By [TOI staff]( [Third lockdown may cause additional 100,000 unemployed, official says]( By [TOI staff]( from the blogs [Carol Novis]( [I miss shopping. There, I said it.]( [I know, I know, there are real tragedies. But I can’t help it: I miss the heady feeling of enjoying something new – the sense of fresh possibilities]( [CRM]( Times of Israel Podcast [LISTEN: Following Netanyahu around the world; the pandemic's final stretch]( By [TOI staff]( [ToI’s diplomatic correspondent Raphael Ahren and health writer Nathan Jeffay]( [Health Ministry reports 5,459 new cases, highest daily tally in nearly 3 months]( By [TOI staff]( [115,000 vaccinated on Monday, bringing the total to 495,000, more than the number diagnosed since pandemic’s start]( [Under new lockdown rules, 640,000 kids to return to remote learning on Wednesday]( By [TOI staff]( [Israel hopes to start vaccinating general public in 7-10 days, top official says]( By [TOI staff]( from the blogs [Penny Cagan]( [2020 was the worst year ever]( [If we have to pretend this year was a ’gift’ for discovering ourselves, how can we grieve together for what we have lost?]( inside story [Abraham Gross]( [Half-vaccinated patients at NY clinic under investigation unsure what’s next]( [As the Jewish-owned ParCare network undergoes what appears to be the US’s first inquiry into vaccine misappropriation, it promises to work with state to administer second dose]( [Cuomo vows consequences for vaccine fraud as ParCare clinics investigated in NY]( By [Shira Hanau]( [Prominent US rabbi says he didn’t know his ParCare vaccination was not allowed]( By [Shira Hanau]( from the blogs [Scott Kahn]( [When Orthodox Jews ‘disagree’ with the scientific consensus]( [That ’2 Jews, 3 opinions’ claim is real: Judaism prizes argument – for the very existence of dissenting voices prove the rule, and the unanimous decision is suspect]( [Pfizer, AstraZeneca chosen for lab to foster Israel biotech startups]( By [Shoshanna Solomon]( [Consortium of pharma and tech giants, including Merck, Teva, Amazon, will run new innovation lab to develop ecosystem, tap into new tech]( [AstraZeneca: ‘Winning’ vaccine formula is 100% effective against severe COVID-19]( By [AFP]( [Inside Story / How BioNTech-Pfizer won the great global coronavirus vaccine race]( By [Hui Min NEO, Yannick Pasquet, Michelle Fitzpatrick and Yann Schreiber]( [For the few Jews in struggling West Virginia, pandemic offers a silver lining]( By [Larry Luxner]( [Amid coronavirus, Tel Aviv Stock Exchange attracts most IPOs since 2007]( By [Shoshanna Solomon]( [Of the 27 firms that listed shares on the exchange this year, 19 were technology firms; ‘The high-tech engine has arrived at the exchange,’ TASE CEO says]( [M&A deals plunge in Israel as pandemic sidelines foreign investors – report]( By [Shoshanna Solomon]( [Lockdown will shutter 7,500 additional businesses, report says]( By [Shoshanna Solomon]( [1 in 1,000 Americans has died of COVID-19, as country surpasses 19 million cases]( By [AFP]( [Johns Hopkins data show US has been recording at least a million infections per week since early November]( [UK scientists test drug to stop COVID-19 developing in those exposed to virus]( By [TOI staff]( [Republican official believes he caught virus at White House Hanukkah party]( By [PHILISSA CRAMER]( [CRM]( More Headlines [Wonder Woman 1984 has best COVID-era box office debut; part 3 to be fast-tracked]( By [Jake Coyle]( [China touts its ‘extraordinary’ success containing virus ahead of WHO probe]( By [AFP]( [Pandemic withers immigration by nearly 40%]( By [Stuart Winer]( [Iran begins human trials for locally made coronavirus vaccine]( By [Amir Vahdat]( [Virus crisis drives 41% rise in number of at-risk youth seeking help]( By [Stuart Winer]( [US House approves Trump’s $2,000 relief checks, sending bill to GOP-led Senate]( By [Jill Colvin and LISA MASCARO]( [Iran Red Crescent says Pfizer vaccine batch being sent by US benefactors]( By [Nasser Karimi]( [Family, ministry say no link to vaccine as man dies hours after inoculation]( By [TOI staff]( [World wrap / Vaccine campaigns expand worldwide alongside fears COVID spreading faster]( By [AFP]( [Rabbi Zalman Teitelbaum, US Satmar Hasidic leader, tests positive for COVID-19]( By [Shira Hanau]( [Minister orders prisons: Don’t start vaccinating Palestinian inmates yet]( By [TOI staff]( [Chinese citizen journalist jailed for four years for Wuhan virus reporting]( By [Laurie CHEN]( [Unsubscribe from this List]( Email not displaying correctly? 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