Israel is leading the pack as countries race to vaccinate their populations. 

Israel’s total number of vaccinations has now surpassed the tally of infections since the start of the pandemic, the country’s health ministry said today.

The government department announced on Tuesday that of its population of approximately nine million, around 495,000 people had been vaccinated. 

“In nine days, we have more people vaccinated than the total number of cases from the start of the epidemic.

“It is not for nothing that we are the leading country in the world in terms of vaccination speed. We continue vaccinating Israel!”

Israel administered the highest number in the world of doses per 100 people in the total population, according to official data compiled by the publication Our World in Data. 

The country, which prioritised those over 60 and other at risk populations, received its first shipment of the Pfizer-Biontech vaccine earlier this month. 

Pfizer and Biontech agreed to supply a total of eight million doses to Israel, enough for four million people.

Israel, which recently entered into its third lockdown, also pre-ordered millions of doses of the Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines.

According to data from Johns Hopkins University, cases rose to 407,285, with deaths surpassing 3,200.