Status: December 31, 2021 11:16 am
Given the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus, Israel is now starting to administer a fourth dose of the vaccine. It was approved for people with immunodeficiency, senior citizens and employees in nursing homes.
Israel has started fourth vaccinations against the coronavirus for people with immunodeficiency. In the morning, the first patients with lung and heart transplants were vaccinated, said the Schiba Hospital near Tel Aviv.
The Director General of the Ministry of Health, Nachman Asch, said on Thursday that only people with immunodeficiency should receive a fourth dose of the corona vaccine for the time being. Now it was said that Asch also generally approves the allocation of the fourth vaccination in care facilities for the elderly and for employees.
The background is the fear of outbreaks in these facilities and the danger to the health and life of the residents.
In view of the rapid spread of the Omikron variant, a panel of experts had previously recommended vaccinating people over 60 and medical staff for the fourth time in addition to immunocompromised people. Asch said he was not yet convinced that this was already necessary. But you weigh up the next steps every day.
60 percent are considered fully vaccinated
Israel has already passed the fourth corona wave, but the number of infections has recently increased massively again. Only around 60 percent of the 9.4 million Israelis are still considered fully vaccinated. These are twice vaccinated up to six months after the second vaccination and people with booster vaccination. 31 percent of the population are not vaccinated at all, with nine percent the vaccination has already expired.