Coronavirus: Israel to vaccinate under 60s with third dose from next week

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Thursday that From next week, the inoculation of a third booster dose of the coronavirus vaccine will be extended to people under the age of 60, amid a rebound in cases in recent weeks.

“I calculate that this afternoon we will receive approval from the team managing the pandemic to vaccinate younger age groups with the third dose “says Bennett, who asked these people to “prepare”, as the newspaper reports The time of Israel.

“We are prepared in terms of vaccines”, assured the Prime Minister, who indicated that This third vaccine will be extended to the elderly from next week and possibly to those over 40 in a third round.

Israel’s health ministry said on Thursday that In the last 24 hours, 5,946 infections were recorded, for a total of 921,083, with 6,593 dead. Israel reported more than 6,000 daily positives on Tuesday for the first time in six months.

Likewise, he pointed out that at present there are 42,203 active cases, about 850 more than the day before, while 421 people are in serious condition, 87 of them in critical condition, 65 of whom are connected to ventilators.

Finally, the ministry indicated that to date 5,827,742 people have received at least one dose, of which 5,406,232 are already on the full schedule. Of these, 716,518 people have already received the third dose, so far limited to those over 60.

Since the last days of July, Israel has been give a third injection to people over 60 years old. To boost the campaign, the president Isaac Herzog, 60, and his wife Michal received their third dose of Pfizer / BioNTech at Sheba Hospital, in the suburbs of Tel Aviv. Also the former prime minister Benjamin netanyahu a third injection was given.

Giving three doses of the anticovid vaccine enhances protection facing the contagious Delta variant, according to the Pfizer laboratory, but it has not been approved by the health authorities of the United States or the European Union.

Israel’s decision “is based on expert opinion, on logic, but not on solid scientific evidence. But it’s OK”, told the agency AFP Hebrew University of Jerusalem epidemiologist Hagai Levine. “In public health and medicine, we sometimes make decisions based on our experience and reasoning”he added.

Israel has deployed a rapid vaccination campaign thanks to an agreement with Pfizer/BioNTech Yes lifted many restrictions in June, when new COVID-19 infections fell from 10,000 to less than 100 per day. But contagions rebounded in recent weeks and Measures such as the compulsory use of a mask in closed public spaces have returned.

In mid-July, the government had authorized this third injection to patients with severe immunosuppression, that is to say those whose weak immune system this makes them particularly vulnerable to the virus.

The Prime Minister assured that his government “he is open to sharing all the information he will derive from this daring initiative. “

(With information from Europa Press and AFP)

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