Omicron's Fast Spread Means Time For Fourth Shot, Israel Says
NDTV
"The citizens of Israel were the first to get the third vaccine and we are continuing to lead with the fourth vaccine," Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement late Tuesday.
Israel will administer a fourth dose of coronavirus vaccine to people over the age of 60 and medical personnel, becoming the first nation in the world to do so on such a widespread basis as the omicron variant barrels across the world.
"The citizens of Israel were the first to get the third vaccine and we are continuing to lead with the fourth vaccine," Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement late Tuesday. He's ordered authorities to prepare for a nationwide inoculation drive.
The decision was taken even though Israel doesn't have reams of data backing up efficacy. The country's public health chief, Sharon Alroy-Preis, protested at a meeting of government officials and medical experts that a trial at the country's leading hospital hadn't yet been carried out, according to Army Radio.
But Galia Rahav, head of Sheba Medical Center's infectious disease unit, who attended the meeting, said the overwhelming majority nevertheless voted in favor of a fourth shot because of the speed at which omicron was spreading. She called it a "calculated risk."
