Israel gives the fourth dose of the ‘Covid-19’ vaccine to high-risk individuals
-
Roshan Amiri
- . December 22, 2021
- . Update: December 24, 2021 3:40 pm
Israel–Israel will start giving the fourth dose of the “Covid-19” vaccine immediately, to people over the age of 60, to medical workers, and to those with weakened immune systems, according to what the Prime Minister’s Office announced, following a recommendation made by the Corona Virus Experts Committee. in the country.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement: ‘Great news, don’t waste time, go get the vaccine.’ Eligible persons will be given the fourth dose, provided that at least 4 months have passed since receiving the third dose. Bennett noted that ‘Israel is still at the forefront of global efforts to deal with the pandemic. Israeli citizens are the first to receive the third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in the world, and we continue to be the first to receive the fourth dose as well.’
In a related announcement, the recommended distance between the second and third doses of the vaccine was also shortened, from 5 to 3 months. Professor Galia Rahav said: ‘We don’t have data on the level of immunity yet, as was the case when we decided on the third dose, but on the other hand, the data are quite alarming in the rest of the world.’ ‘In such a case, it’s important to take immediate actions ‘ Rahav added.
The government ministerial committee met on Tuesday to decide on a number of new measures following the new wave of infections caused by the ‘Omicron‘ mutant. In particular, school students who live in areas with a low vaccination rate for children under 18 are likely to return to online education as soon as this week.
In areas where the number of COVID-19 cases is high, known as ‘red’ or ‘orange’ communities, classes in which 70% of children have received at least one dose of the vaccine will be taught at school. Classes with lower vaccination rates will be taught online. The new policy will take effect immediately for children aged 13 and over, and for younger children, it will take effect within 3 weeks.
There will also be an increased demand for Israelis to show their ‘green pass’ when they go out shopping, for example, showing a permit to enter or work in a store of more than 100 square meters is mandatory. Earlier, it was announced that public sector workplaces would cut the number of employees working on-site by half.
The measure will come into effect on Sunday and will remain in effect for at least a month. A few days ago, Bennett asked private sector companies to encourage employees to work from home as much as possible.
The latest data on the ‘Omicron’ mutant in Israel showed that 341 confirmed cases were detected, more than two-thirds of which infected fully vaccinated people or finally recovered from the disease. In addition, more than 800 cases of the ‘Omicron’ mutation are suspected.
The total number of new ‘Covid-19’ cases in Israel exceeded 1,300 on Monday, a number not recorded since mid-October. The measure of the correlation coefficient is 1.28 for the number of people infected with COVID-19, the highest number since the peak of the fourth wave at the beginning of August.
