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Covid-19: Israel could become the first country to give four vaccine doses Covid-19: Israel plans to give fourth dose of vaccine to over-60s
(about 11 hours later)
An expert panel has recommended giving a fourth vaccine dose to health workers and those over 60An expert panel has recommended giving a fourth vaccine dose to health workers and those over 60
Israel says it plans to become the first country to roll out a fourth dose of the Covid-19 vaccine as the country prepares for a wave of infections driven by the new Omicron variant. A government panel of experts in Israel has recommended a fourth dose of a Covid-19 vaccine for all people aged over 60 and healthcare workers.
Israel's pandemic experts have recommended a fourth booster for the over-60s and health workers. The move was welcomed by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who said it would help the country get through a potential wave of the Omicron variant.
PM Naftali Bennett welcomed the plan and told officials to start preparing. The Israeli health ministry has so far confirmed 341 cases of Omicron.
It comes as Israel confirmed the first known death of a patient with the Omicron strain on Tuesday. The overall Covid-19 infection rate is also back on the rise, with 903 new cases recorded on Tuesday.
The health ministry said there were at least 340 known cases of the variant in Israel. Four deaths have also been reported in the past seven days, including that of a 68-year-old man who doctors suspected was infected with Omicron. The health ministry said on Wednesday that he actually had the Delta variant.
Covid vaccines: How fast is worldwide progress?Covid vaccines: How fast is worldwide progress?
What Israel tells us about the way out of CovidWhat Israel tells us about the way out of Covid
The decision to roll out a fourth booster is still pending approval by senior health officials, however Mr Bennett's office told the BBC that it was hoping to administer the dose to people at least four months after their third dose. On Tuesday night, Israel's Pandemic Expert Committee recommended a fourth dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for over-60s, medics, and those with compromised immunity, at least four months after their third jab.
"This is wonderful news that will assist us in getting through the Omicron wave that is engulfing the world," Mr Bennett said, as he urged people to take up the offer as soon as possible. The move is set to receive final approval by the health ministry in the coming days.
When Covid-19 vaccination programmes were first launched, Israel's jabs were rolled out quickly and there was a relatively high take-up. "This is wonderful news that will assist us in getting through the Omicron wave that is engulfing the world," Mr Bennett said.
However despite this, only about 63% of its population of 9.3 million has had two doses. This is partly to do with Israel being a relatively young country - about a third of its population is under the age of 14. "The citizens of Israel were the first in the world to receive the third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine and we are continuing to pioneer with the fourth dose as well," the prime minister added.
To help combat this, Israel announced in November that children aged from five years old could also get the jab. Professor Nadav Davidovitch, the director of the School of Public Health at Ben Gurion University and an adviser to the government, told the BBC: "The vaccine is very safe, so having the fourth dose in terms of side effects this is something that is very minimal."
On Monday, Mr Bennett said he wanted every eligible child to get the vaccine within the next two weeks to help "delay and slow and diminish" the strength of another wave of infections. "The Omicron [variant] is now in Israel. We have now multiplication rates after two days, similar to what's going on in the UK and in South Africa. And following this, we decided that it would be prudent now to suggest that people that got a third dose four months ago can have the fourth dose."
The country has already widened a travel ban to countries including the US, Germany, Italy and Canada to try to curb the spread of the virus. The BBC's Tom Bateman in Jerusalem says the evidence favouring a fourth shot has not yet been released, and the same committee advised against the move only a week ago.
Israel has confirmed more than 1.36 million Covid infections since the start of the pandemic, with some 8,200 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. One expert on the panel said there was a "paucity of data" on whether immunity from the third shot was waning, but added the numbers on Omicron infection globally were "terribly frightening".
This video can not be played Israel rolled out its Covid-19 vaccine programme at the world's fastest rate and was the first country to routinely offer a booster shot in the summer.
To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Almost 70% of those eligible among its 9.3 million population have received two doses, while 45% have received a third dose, according to the health ministry.
Covid-19: Vaccine divides in the Middle East In November, the health ministry said children aged five to 11 could also get the jab.
On Monday, Mr Bennett said he wanted every eligible child to be vaccinated within the next two weeks to help "delay and slow and diminish" the strength of another wave of infections.
The government closed Israel's borders to foreign nationals last month in response to Omicron and has now forbidden Israeli citizens and permanent residents from travelling to more than 50 countries on a "red list", including the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and much of Africa.