More than a year after the beginning of the health crisis caused by Covid19, vaccines are in many countries considered as the one technological tool that will allow a return to normal life. The promise is that they could allow for a real control of the epidemic (contaminations, hospitalizations, etc.) Not all countries are betting on vaccines only. Either by necessity or by choice, they are building a strategy that counts vaccines as a key element, but not the only one.

Israel’s reported infections decreased dramatically, with 55% of Israelis fully vaccinated. On the 8th of May, they had just 30 new infections. But, if they are very optimistic about the vaccines, they recognize at the same time that their current success is mainly due to their strict lockdown while they were vaccinating the population. They have implemented strict border controls with quarantines along with contact tracing. Their schools were mostly closed earlier in the year.

Israel is a very important case to observe, as it will help measure the real impact of vaccines. Seychelles, a winner in the vaccine race (62,2% of the adult population fully vaccinated), has just decided to take new control measures (closure of schools, cancellation of sporting events, etc.) as infections are surging. At the end of March, Chile, despite its vaccination success, was forced to impose strict new lockdowns as well.

The …