Showing papers by "Israel Ministry of Health published in 2022"

Inequalities in initiation of COVID19 vaccination by age and population group in Israel- December 2020-July 2021.

Abstract: Summary Background COVID19 vaccination coverage in Israel varies among population groups. Comparing crude coverage between groups is misleading because of different age structures and socio-economic differences. To describe inequalities in COVID19 vaccine initiation in Israel we analysed the interaction of age and population groups in terms of dose 1 vaccine coverage Methods We calculated cumulative age-specific first COVID19 vaccine coverage by population group (Ultra-Orthodox Jewish, Arab, General Jewish). We calculated the relative differences in vaccine coverage between population groups within each age group, and between age groups within each population, using ANOVA and binomial regression after adjusting for socio-economic status Findings 8,507,723 individuals in 268 cities were included. Compared with the general Jewish population, coverage was lowest in the Ultra-Orthodox population in all age groups (range -12% among 60+ to -52.8% among 10-19 years olds, p Interpretation In all age groups, the Ultra-Orthodox population had the lowest vaccine coverage. Differences persisted after adjusting for socio-economic status. The younger the age group, the more Ultra-Orthodox Jews were diverging from age peers in terms of initiating COVID19 vaccination, suggesting a generational effect. Tailored approaches are urgently required to encourage vaccination among under-immunized groups in Israel Funding No specific funding was received

National Scale Real-Time Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 Variants Dynamics by Wastewater Monitoring in Israel

Abstract: In this report, we describe a national-scale monitoring of the SARS-CoV-2 (SC-2) variant dynamics in Israel, using multiple-time sampling of 13 wastewater treatment plants. We used a combination of inclusive and selective quantitative PCR assays that specifically identify variants A19/A20 or B.1.1.7 and tested each sample for the presence and relative viral RNA load of each variant. We show that between December 2020 and March 2021, a complete shift in the SC-2 variant circulation was observed, where the B.1.1.7 replaced the A19 in all examined test points. We further show that the normalized viral load (NVL) values and the average new cases per week reached a peak in January 2021 and then decreased gradually in almost all test points, in parallel with the progression of the national vaccination campaign, during February-March 2021. This study demonstrates the importance of monitoring SC-2 variant by using a combination of inclusive and selective PCR tests on a national scale through wastewater sampling, which is far more amendable for high-throughput monitoring compared with sequencing. This approach may be useful for real-time dynamics surveillance of current and future variants, such as the Omicron (BA.1, BA.2) and other variants.

Prevalence and Incidence Rates of Dementia: A Nationwide Population-Based Study of Electronic Health Records in Israel

Abstract: Data on the rate of dementia is essential for planning and developing appropriate services at the national level.We report the prevalence and incidence of dementia, based on electronic health records available for the whole population.This national dementia dataset was established as a part of the National Program to Address Alzheimer's and Other Types of Dementia. Data from medical health records for all persons aged 45+ in Israel, for 2016, were extracted from the databases of the four health maintenance organizations. Dementia cases were identified based on either recorded dementia diagnosis, through International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9 and ICD-10) or dispensation of anti-dementia drugs. The date of first diagnosis was determined by the earliest recording.A total of 65,951 persons with dementia, aged 45+, were identified from electronic health data. Based on both ICD codes and anti-dementia drugs, the prevalence rates of dementia among individuals aged 45+ and 65+ in 2016 were 2.5%and 6.4%, respectively, and the incidence rates were 0.49%and 1.3%, respectively. Based on ICD codes alone, the prevalence rates of dementia among individuals aged 45+ and 65+ in 2016 were 2.1%and 5.4%respectively, and the incidence rates were 0.36%and 0.96%respectively. The rates were higher among females compared to males and paradoxically lower in lower socioeconomic status compared to higher statuses.This data collection reflects the present access of dementia patients to medical care resources and provides the basis for service planning and future dementia policies.

Simplifying Semantic Annotations of SMCalFlow

Abstract: SMCalFlow is a large corpus of semantically detailed annotations of task-oriented natural dialogues. The annotations use a dataflow approach, in which the annotations are programs which represent user requests. Despite the availability, size and richness of this annotated corpus, it has seen only very limited use in dialogue systems research work, at least in part due to the difficulty in understanding and using the annotations. To address these difficulties, this paper suggests a simplification of the SMCalFlow annotations, as well as releases code needed to inspect the execution of the annotated dataflow programs, which should allow researchers of dialogue systems an easy entry point to experiment with various dataflow based implementations and annotations.

Do Mechanically Ventilated COVID-19 Patients Present a Higher Case-Fatality Rate Compared With Other Infectious Respiratory Pandemics? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract: Background Early reports on COVID-19 patient outcomes showed a marked fatality rate among patients requiring invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV). Objective Our aim was to compare case fatality rate (CFR) outcomes for patients requiring IMV due to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-associated coronavirus 2 (COVID-19), SARS-associated coronavirus 1, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and influenza (H1N1). Materials and Methods We searched PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Google Scholar, and Cochrane Library for relevant studies published between December 2019 and April 2021 for COVID-19, between January 2002 and December 2008 for SARS, between January 2012 and December 2019 for MERS, and between January 2009 and December 2016 for influenza (H1N1). Results Overall, this study included 81 peer-reviewed studies, pertaining to 65,058 patients requiring IMV: 61 studies including 62,809 COVID-19 patients, 4 studies including 148 SARS patients, 9 studies including 875 MERS patients, and 7 studies including 1226 influenza (H1N1) patients. The CFR for COVID-19 patients requiring IMV was not significantly different from the CFR for SARS and influenza (H1N1) patients (45.5% [95% confidence interval (CI), 38.5%–52.8%] vs. 48.1% [95% CI, 39.2%–57.2%] and 39.7% [95% CI, 29.3%–51.3%], respectively). However, CFR for COVID-19 patients was significantly lower compared with that for MERS patients (CFR, 70.6%; 95% CI, 60.9%–78.8%). Conclusions COVID-19 patients requiring IMV show a similar CFR compared with SARS and H1N1 influenza patients but a lower CFR compared with MERS patients. To improve survival in future pandemics, we recommend examining the pros and cons of the liberal use of endotracheal intubation and considering drafting guidelines for the selection of patients to intubate and the timing of intubation.

Simplifying Dataflow Dialogue Design

Abstract: In \citep{andreas2020task-oriented}, a dataflow (DF) based dialogue system was introduced, showing clear advantages compared to many commonly used current systems. This was accompanied by the release of SMCalFlow, a practically relevant, manually annotated dataset, more detailed and much larger than any comparable dialogue dataset. Despite these remarkable contributions, the community has not shown further interest in this direction. What are the reasons for this lack of interest? And how can the community be encouraged to engage in research in this direction? One explanation may be the perception that this approach is too complex - both the the annotation and the system. This paper argues that this perception is wrong: 1) Suggestions for a simplified format for the annotation of the dataset are presented, 2) An implementation of the DF execution engine is released\footnote{https://github.com/telepathylabsai/OpenDF}, which can serve as a sandbox allowing researchers to easily implement, and experiment with, new DF dialogue designs. The hope is that these contributions will help engage more practitioners in exploring new ideas and designs for DF based dialogue systems.