Israel plans to administer fourth dose of coronavirus vaccine
Israel is to start offering a fourth dose of the coronavirus vaccine to some of its citizens, a world first, as concerns over the efficacy of existing shots against Omicron continue to mount globally.
“Israel will become the first country in the world to administer the fourth [dose of a] Covid-19 vaccine. The first group eligible will be people age 60 [and over and] medical personnel,” the Israeli government’s pandemic information centre said on Twitter late on Tuesday.
The decision, it said, would give “greater protection in the face of Omicron”.
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Israel has been seen as an early case study for the deployment of coronavirus shots after reaching high, two-dose immunisation levels with the BioNTech/Pfizer shot earlier this year.
It then began boosting its population in the summer as the Delta variant swept the country.
Naftali Bennett, prime minister, has ordered the country to prepare for a mass national campaign offering new jabs spaced at least four months after people had received their third jabs.