Israel become world's leading vaccinator per capita

Israel has become the world's leading vaccinator per capita, inoculating more than 1.5 million people, about 18% of its population, in just over two weeks since it began its campaign.

Israel aims to vaccinate most of the population by the end of March.

Experts point to varying reasons for Israel's success.

For one it is a small country both geographically and in terms of its population size.

Driving across the country's entire length takes hours, making vaccine distribution easy.

The country has universal health care that is carried out by four separate providers, a mechanism that keeps health care at once centralized but also encourages competition, with each Health Management Organization, or HMO, working hard to satisfy its subscribers.

Israel has also been aggressive about inking deals with the pharmaceutical companies behind the vaccines.

It reached an agreement with the Pfizer pharmaceutical company to supply 8 million doses of its newly approved vaccine — enough to cover nearly half of Israel's population of 9 million, since each person requires two doses.

It has also reached a separate agreement with Moderna to purchase 6 million doses of its vaccine — enough for another 3 million Israelis.

The vaccination drives come as Israel is in its third nationwide lockdown, with restrictions set to be tightened starting Friday.

A successful vaccination drive can have wider implications in Israel, which heads to the polls in March.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has placed the vaccination campaign at the center of his bid for reelection.

Despite the vaccination campaign, Israel has seen a surge in cases in recent days.

It currently has more than 60,000 active cases, with hundreds of people in serious condition.

It has reported a total of more than 450,000 cases and 3,527 deaths since the start of the pandemic.