Israel Expands 4th COVID-19 Vaccination to Those Aged 60 and Over and Medical Staff

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett
Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Israel has expanded the eligibility for the 4th dose of the COVID-19 vaccine (2nd booster shot) to include those aged 60 and above as well as medical personnel.

On the 2nd (local time), Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced at a briefing, "During the 5th wave, the number of new confirmed cases could rise to 50,000."

This decision by Israeli authorities comes just three days after approving the 4th dose for immunocompromised individuals on the 30th of last month. It is in response to the spread of the Omicron variant, which caused the number of new confirmed cases, previously in the triple digits, to surge to the 50,000 range within three weeks.

Eran Segal, a member of the government's COVID-19 advisory committee and a researcher at the Weizmann Institute, predicted, "In the coming weeks, new confirmed cases will increase to 20,000?30,000, and the cumulative confirmed cases this month will explode to between 2 million and 4 million."

Israel, which initially led the world in the rapid rollout of the first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, was the first country to introduce the 3rd dose in July and subsequently became the first to approve the 4th dose worldwide.

Prime Minister Bennett stated, "Global cases have shown that those who have completed vaccination generally do not progress to severe illness," adding, "Vaccines protect us from severe deterioration and isolation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.