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vaccine success

‘Le Parisien’ reports that “Tel Aviv is no longer hiding its face behind a mask.”

By Neta Bar, Israel Hayom via JNS

Israel’s success in beating back the COVID pandemic continues to attract attention in international media outlets, and this weekend, the French magazine Le Parisien devoted a cover story to Israel as an example of life “after” COVID.

The feature article, which interviews numerous Israelis and includes colorful descriptions of a busy Tel Aviv and Israel’s unprecedented national vaccination operation, is titled “A Taste of Life After [COVID].”

“Tel Aviv is no longer hiding its face behind a mask. It is now open to the air and to people on the street, even though sometimes a mask hides under a chin,” the article informs readers.

The article attributes Israel’s success to its digitized healthcare system, the relative discipline of its population, and efforts by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who the magazine said “fought tooth and nail for the vaccines … harassing the Pfizer CEO 30 times with phone conversations into the night.”

A separate article posted on the magazine’s website reported that Israel had marked the first day in months without a single COVID fatality, and said that since January, Israel had the lowest percentage of serious COVID cases in the world.