| While the debate over boosters rages throughout much of the Western world, Tel Aviv's mayor says a third dose helped bring his city back to life. Restaurants and cafes in the seaside Mediterranean city are once again packed to the brim, says Ron Huldai, who's been mayor of the Israeli city for more than two decades. Huldai, on his first visit to New York since the start of the pandemic, says midtown Manhattan feels eerie and quiet to him by comparison. "On the streets of Tel Aviv now, it's like there's no Covid," says Huldai, 77. He said 99% of city workers are vaccinated.  Diners at tables outside a cafe in Tel Aviv on Sept. 20. Photographer: Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg It wasn't that way just weeks ago. Israel has immunized a larger share of its people than almost any other nation, but cases and hospitalizations spiked with the spread of the delta variant over the summer. The country that was once predicted to be the first to vaccinate its entire population briefly had the highest per-capita caseload of anywhere in early September, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University. But serious cases started to drop in recent weeks, with more than 3.6 million people — in a nation of 9 million — having received a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Israel, which began administering booster shots in early August, will now require one to validate a vaccine passport known as a "green pass," which allows entry into restaurants, bars and gyms. Israel is even making preparations to ensure it has sufficient supply in case a fourth round of shots is needed. The trajectory of the booster debate in Israel might point to where things are headed in the U.S. and other wealthy nations. Even with boosters authorized for millions of Americans, there's disagreement among U.S. health officials about whether they're necessary for all people or just for some, such as the immunocompromised. And the World Health Organization has called for a moratorium on boosters until vaccination rates rise in less-wealthy countries. But for Huldai, who disagrees with his country's government on plenty of issues, a booster shot is a no-brainer. —David Wainer | 
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