Israel Rolls Out COVID Booster Shots to Anyone Over 50

JERUSALEM - Israel has expanded its vaccine campaign to give booster shots against COVID-19 to anyone over 50. To that end, the country is opening all night vaccination sites to encourage more people to get vaccinated. All of this comes as the number of cases in Israel continues to rise.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, Tel Aviv was known as a party city on the Mediterranean with clubs, bars, restaurants and a thriving gay culture. Now it’s becoming known as the first city in Israel with all-night vaccine stations. Hundreds of people lined up at the stations even before they opened Saturday night at 8 pm, and the stations were operated jointly by Israel’s Red Cross and the municipality. In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennet said the idea was to make sure that anyone who wants to get vaccinated is able to do so without having to miss work to do it. He said that all night stations will open in nine other Israeli cities in the next few days. He said that by Monday, one million Israelis will have gotten their third shot. At these vaccination stations, there are no appointments needed, and they are open to non-citizens as well meaning that foreign workers who came to Israel illegally from Sudan and Eritrea would also be eligible.