Israel evaluate authorizing the application of a fourth dose of the vaccine against COVID-19

The government of Israel will begin preparations for the application of a fourth dose of the vaccine against the COVID-19, as the country faces a new wave of infections despite the great progress it has made in the immunization campaign against the disease.

For this reason, the national czar of the coronavirus in Israel, Salman Zarka, warned that the country must be ready for a fourth dose, to better protect people from the arrival of new variants of the coronavirus, according to the portal Week.

“Since the virus is here and will continue to be here, we must also prepare for a fourth injection,” said the official in dialogue with public radio Kan. “This is our life from now on, in waves,” he added.

A month ago, in an interview with The Times of Israel, Zarka had said that people should be waiting for a booster dose. “It seems that if we learn the lessons of the fourth wave, we should consider the possibility of later waves with the new variants, like the new one from South America,” he said.

“Thinking about this and the decrease in vaccines and the antibodies, it seems that every few months, it could be once a year or five or six months, we will need another injection, “he added.

In the middle of last month, the Israeli government announced the reduction to 50 years in the minimum age to receive a third dose of the vaccine against COVID-19, in the hope of fighting a new wave of infections linked to the delta variant of the virus .

Two weeks ago, the state authorized people 60 and older to receive a third dose of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, and the campaign allowed booster doses to be administered to more than 770,000 Israelis, according to the latest data from the Health Ministry.

In a new step, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced that the minimum age for the third dose was lowered to 50 years.

“The campaign to vaccinate the population aged 60 and over is a great success … It is an important step in the fight against the delta variant,” Bennett said in a statement.

“I call all people over 50 to line up tomorrow (Friday). Go get vaccinated, this is a great success, it is in our hands, “he added.

The country will also require coronavirus testing for children ages three and up so they can enter schools, swimming pools, hotels and gyms.

Israel already requires a Green Pass for children 12 and up with information on their vaccination, COVID tests and if they have recovered from the disease.

Bennett said that starting next Wednesday, the government will fund unlimited coronavirus testing for children ages 3-11.

Israel launched a large vaccination campaign in mid-December thanks to an agreement with the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, which allowed it to receive millions of doses of the inoculant.

The campaign made it possible to drastically reduce the number of cases, but in recent weeks infections increased due to the spread of the delta variant among unvaccinated adults and people vaccinated more than six months ago.

For this reason, the local health authorities decided to apply new doses that reinforce the protection of the elderly, considered more vulnerable.

However, the World Health Organization (WHO) had called for a moratorium on additional doses to allow more vaccines available in poor countries, whose vaccination rate is lower.