Bennett defends recall fire, says US will soon follow Israel with widespread use

In his first public comments on an FDA panel decision on Friday to approve Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine booster injections only for older Americans and those considered to be at high risk, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett predicted Saturday night that the United States would gradually begin offering the tour more widely after receiving scientific data from Israel.

“The FDA has decided to follow Israel’s path,” he said on Twitter, referring to the US regulator’s decision.

“I believe that the FDA will gradually approve the extension of the vaccine to more age groups, as has happened in Israel, as the effectiveness of the second vaccine continues to decline even among older age groups. young people, ”he said.

Dr Sharon Alroy-Preis, chief of public health services at the Department of Health, said on Saturday that she also believes the United States will make the third dose more widely available over time. “We’re about three months ahead of them,” she told Channel 12 News, referring to the highly contagious Delta wave, which began to hit Israel in June, and the deployment of booster injections. .

She reiterated that vaccines “lose their effectiveness over time and it does not depend on age, which is why we wanted to vaccinate everyone. [over 12]. “

While Israel initially made the booster available only to people over 60, all Israelis over 12 are currently eligible to receive a third vaccine once five months have passed since their second dose.

Disregarding Israeli data and expert testimony, the external expert panel advising the FDA on Friday rejected the boosters for the most part by a 16-2 vote. Members cited a lack of data on the safety of additional doses and also cast doubts on the value of mass boosters, rather than those intended for specific groups.

Then, in an 18-0 vote, he approved the extra shot only for certain parts of the American population, namely those most at risk for the virus.

Officially, although the panel appears to reject Israeli data presented to the FDA that shows the vaccine’s effectiveness wanes after about six months, Israel’s health ministry has welcomed the decisions, saying they validate Israel’s decision. offer a third injection to anyone 12 years of age and over.

“With the unanimous decision of the FDA board to give recalls to people over 65 and at risk, as well as health workers – exactly as we started doing here – the FDA has validated the recall program initiated in Israel, ”the ministry said in a statement.

In an opinion piece published in The Economist on Friday, ahead of the FDA’s decision, Bennett said some experts in Israel were reluctant to approve the booster injections, but ultimately the decision was made to ‘inoculate the population with a third dose in the middle of a fourth wave. of the Delta variant of the virus.

“So far, studies show that the third dose is enough to bring resistance back to the level after the first two. Waiting too long to administer the third dose risks wasting the gains already made from immunization and eroding public confidence, ”Bennett wrote.

According to a Channel 12 report on Saturday night, despite the FDA’s recommendation, Bennett decided to go ahead with a plan requiring Israelis to get the third shot in order to receive a Green Pass allowing them to enter. some public spaces and events.

The report, however, also quotes anonymous sources in the cabinet as saying they want to weigh the October 1 delay scheduled for the start of the new rules for under-40s, due to falling recall rates among them. .

Figures released by the network show that 61% of people eligible for the recall between 40 and 49 have done so. This figure drops to 47% of those aged 30 to 39; 40% between 20 and 29 years old; and 37% between 16 and 19 years old.

Officials said they now fear greater distrust of the 3rd vaccine and potential legal challenges regarding its mandate for a third vaccine under Green Pass policy.

Responding to the FDA recommendation and Saturday night’s reports, Labor MP Gilad Kariv, chairman of the Knesset Constitution and Law Committee, called “to postpone the date of the Green Pass with a third vaccine for the 12 -16 years old “.

Israeli on panel explains FDA thinking

Speaking to Channel 12 on Saturday night, Dr Ofer Levy of Boston Children’s Hospital, the only Israeli member of the FDA advisory group, defended the decision not to approve additional doses for anyone over 16 years old.

“We looked at a lot of data, a lot of documents, we did a complicated job yesterday, but in my opinion it went well,” Levy said.

When asked why he voted against giving more booster doses, he replied, “There are a lot of numbers that show us that a third dose is going to help and that’s for sure, but at our opinion… we need to see more data about young people before we vote. in favor of a third dose.

Levy said he “felt a kind of pride” when he saw Israeli researchers present the panel with data in favor of booster shots, which Israel is offering to all over 12s, and that their presentation “really helped. all the people on our committee. “

He added that all Israelis eligible to receive booster shots should do so, despite his vote yesterday.

“They absolutely need to be vaccinated… there is no doubt that the vaccine effectively protects against the worst effects of the coronavirus,” he said. “We are in a very different situation here in the United States. “

Latest Israeli figures

Updated health ministry figures released on Saturday night showed more than 10,000 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed this weekend – 4,863 on Friday and 5,344 more since midnight.

The number of serious cases rose to 717, after falling below 700 earlier this month. Of those in serious condition, 195 were on ventilators.

The death toll stood at 7,507.

In total, there are 84,527 active cases in Israel and 1,219,374 infections have been confirmed since the start of the pandemic.

The ministry’s figures also showed the R-rate – the number of new cases resulting from each coronavirus infection – is again less than 1. Any number greater than 1 indicates that the spread of the virus is accelerating, while any reading less than 1 indicates that morbidity is decreasing.

According to the ministry, 6,061,244 Israelis received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, 5,574,359 received two doses and 3,031,423 received a booster.