ISRAEL TO ROLL OUT FOURTH DOSE OF VACCINES AS OMICRON SURGES

Wed 22 December 2021:

Concerns about the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus have prompted Israel to offer a fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to health workers and people over the age of 60.

Late Tuesday, a Health Ministry expert panel recommended the fourth shot, which Prime Minister Naftali Bennett hailed as “great news that will help us overcome the Omicron wave that is spreading around the world.”

“The citizens of Israel were the first in the world to receive the third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine and we are continuing to pioneer with the fourth dose as well,” he said in remarks relayed by his office, calling on those who meet the criteria to “Go and get vaccinated”.

Immunocompromised people, the elderly, and medical personnel will all be eligible for the fourth shot, according to the Israeli Health Ministry, which will be given at least four months after the third shot.

The decision comes after the first known death of a patient with the Omicron variant in Israel.

On Tuesday, an Israeli hospital confirmed his death, but said he had a number of serious pre-existing conditions.

The man in his 60s died on Monday at the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, two weeks after being admitted to the coronavirus ward.

A hospital statement said the patient suffered from a variety of serious illnesses. “His morbidity stemmed mainly from pre-existing sicknesses and not from respiratory infection arising from the coronavirus,” it said.

To try to stem the spread of the virus, Israel has already expanded a travel ban to include the United States, Germany, Italy, Turkey, and Canada this week.

It has also imposed restrictions on eating in shopping malls and recommended that children in areas with high morbidity and low vaccination rates learn at home. It has also reduced public sector employees’ office attendance by half to encourage more remote work.

According to his office, Defense Minister Benny Gantz has ordered the military’s Homefront Command to prepare for 5,000 new cases per day.

In Israel’s 9.3 million people, more than 4.1 million people have received three doses of a coronavirus vaccine.

Teenagers and young children continue to have low vaccination rates. A single coronavirus vaccine has been given to less than 1% of children aged five to eleven.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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