Israel’s health ministry announced the start of the vaccination’s next phase. The Middle Eastern country has begun inoculation citizens with the 4th dose of a COVID-19 jab amid a new spike of omicron.
All Israeli citizens aged 60 and over will be offered this second booster dose of the vaccine, the Israeli government announced on Sunday. In addition, the medical staff will be obliged to vaccinate themselves one more time. For many of them, it will be the fourth dose of the vaccine against the COVID-19.
The additional jab will be offered to those who had received their third dose more than four months ago, the medical officials insist.
“The wave of Omicron variant is here, and we need to protect ourselves,” said Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett on Sunday.
Commenting on the government’s efforts to curb the epidemic, PM added that Israel will once again be pioneering the global vaccination effort.
Israel had begun offering citizens a third dose of the vaccine last summer and has been a frontrunner in its inoculation campaign.
In the last 24 hours, Israel has recorded 6,562 cases of the novel pathogen — an increase of more than 50 per cent in one day, according to the health ministry’s report. Severe cases have also risen, but at a much lower rate, from around 80 to 100.
Israel has also recently approved an antiviral pill approved by Merck for COVID-19 patients aged over 18, Euronews reports.
