Israel approves fourth COVID vaccine for high-risk individuals

Israel is to go ahead with second COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for people with weakened immune systems, the top government health official said on Thursday, but a final decision on wider usage is still pending.

 

An Israeli hospital administered fourth shots to a test group of health workers on Monday, in what it called the first major study into whether a second round of boosters will help contend with the Omicron coronavirus variant.

 

A Health Ministry expert panel last week recommended that Israel offer a fourth jab of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to medical workers and those over 60 or with compromised immune systems.

 

Health Ministry director-general Nachman Ash, whose approval is needed to launch a new booster campaign, did not immediately announce a decision, with some experts say there was not enough scientific data to justify fourth shots.

 

Ash told a news conference on Thursday he had decided that, for now, a second booster would be offered only to immunocompromised people, such as cancer patients and organ transplant recipients.