Over 1 million people have already received third dose of vaccine in Israel

The government of Israel reported that more than a million people over the age of 50 received a third dose of coronavirus vaccine.

The country has started offering reinforcements to its elderly population Two weeks ago, become the first in the world to uses a western vaccine to do it.

“Inoculating a million people with the third dose in two weeks is a great success, but it is not enough“Said Nitzan Horowitz, Minister of Health. “Only if we continue to vaccinate people with the third dose, and citizens who have not yet been vaccinated at all, at a rapid rate, we will overcome the crisis without resorting to blockades ”.

The Prime Minister, Naftali Bennettsaid on Monday that more than half of the target population had already received the booster vaccine. He described it as “great success“And urged those who have not received the reinforcement to do so as soon as possible.”It is the only way to protect our health and livelihood“, He said.

“We have reached a million citizens who have taken responsibility for themselves and those around them and have been vaccinated with the third dose. Although this is a magnificent figure and a great achievement, we still have a lot of work ahead of us, ”added the President.

“The citizens of Israel are the first in the world to receive the third dose. Only in this way can we protect both health and livelihoods.. Anyone who has not yet been vaccinated, do so now, “insisted the Israeli president.

Israel was one of the world leaders in vaccinating its population earlier this year, using the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine. However, In recent weeks, there has been an increase in cases of COVID-19, widely spread by the delta variant.

Many cases have occurred in people who are already immune, which leads to fears that the vaccine will lose its effectiveness over time.

For its part, United States develop a plan to begin offering booster doses of the vaccine, something that could happen from September.

the New York Times, who specifies that his sources are people close to the initiative, specifies that if this third dose of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were administered, the first would go to the home of age and the workers of the health sector.

The Joe Biden administration, which has a stock of 100 million vaccines, also plans to inject the booster dose of the same medication as each of the patients initially received, and although it has been proposed to start the effort in October, a definitive timeline has not been finalized.

Plans for the administration of this third dose are being developed despite the fact that many experts claim that there is still not enough evidence that the protection against severe covid provided by the vaccine is declining in the United StatesBut government officials say they can’t wait to reach a critical moment and delay logistics efforts for the third dose, according to the Times.

New vaccination plans in the United States come as a new wave of infections is hitting the country, and hospitals in some states such as Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi are again receiving a large number of people infected with the coronavirus, most of whom have not been vaccinated.

New York newspaper sources point out that Biden’s executive is closely monitoring data from Israel, where some figures suggest an increase in severe cases of COVID-19 in older people who have received the Pfizer vaccine in the stadium. start of your vaccination campaign.

(With information from AP and EFE)

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