Israel pressures parents to vaccinate kids

Israel's impressive COVID-19 vaccine drive is now targeting teenagers, amid a rise in cases blamed on the Delta variant.

Around 3/4 of the country's population within eligible age groups have already received their shots.

But health ministry data says that only includes 2-4% of 12-15 year olds since the group was given the green light this month.

After daily cases more than doubled on Monday (June 21) after outbreaks at two schools, many reluctant parents are now feeling pressure to put their children forward for the vaccine.

Yizhak Nevo is one of them.

"We came today to vaccinate Chen. She is 13 years-old and I was waiting until the Ministry of Health gave the approval to vaccinate her age. When it arrived there was no more COVID in Israel so my wife said leave it. But now after the COVID outbreaks and all the situation I said - today, today, I don't give a damn, today."

"I wanted to get vaccinated so I don't get the disease. I'm very scared of it."

The Health Ministry recommended parents vaccinate their 12-15-year-olds on Monday.

It's even investing in outreach programs to get parents to bring their children in for shots.

Israel's two largest healthcare providers say appointments for teen vaccinations have doubled and tripled in recent days.

But some parents, like Eldad Askof, aren't convinced.

"There was a debate but at the moment we feel that we don't want to vaccinate (the children), we prefer that.. it seems like if we can control it without getting vaccinated - the kids, we prefer that."

It's a dilemma.

Experts say there will be no herd immunity if the younger generation is not vaccinated.

But Israel's handling of the coronavirus has so far been so successful that it has dropped almost all social distancing - and will open its borders to vaccinated tourists next month.

Israel uses the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on its population - but its effectiveness against the Delta variant in the country is not yet clear.

Some studies abroad, where Delta is more common, have found the shot to be effective.