HomeNewsWorldIsrael's former PM Benjamin Netanyahu tests positive for COVID-19

Israel's former PM Benjamin Netanyahu tests positive for COVID-19

On Monday, Netanyahu attended a Likud faction meeting at the Knesset - Israeli Parliament, meaning that everyone who came in close contact with him will need to get tested

March 09, 2022 / 21:54 IST
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (File image: Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (File image: Reuters)

Israel's Opposition leader and former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has tested positive for COVID-19, his spokesperson said on Wednesday.

The 72-year-old Likud leader is feeling well and following Health Ministry guidelines, the announcement read.

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On Monday, Netanyahu attended a Likud faction meeting at the Knesset - Israeli Parliament, meaning that everyone who came in close contact with him will need to get tested and remain in isolation until they receive a negative test result if they're not vaccinated or haven't recovered from the disease, The Times of Israel reported.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett wished Netanyahu a speedy recovery.

COVID-19 Vaccine
Frequently Asked Questions

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How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.
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