JERUSALEM — Israel is preparing to offer some groups of people a fourth dose of a coronavirus vaccine as the omicron variant continues to spread, officials said.
According to Reuters and The Washington Post, an advisory committee for Israel’s Health Ministry on Tuesday recommended the additional shot for health care workers, immunocompromised individuals and residents age 60 and older. The fourth dose would be administered a minimum of four months after the third, the news outlets reported.
The committee also said the third shot should be administered three months after the second dose instead of the currently approved five months, Reuters reported.
>> Omicron now dominant US coronavirus strain, CDC says
Ministry Director-General Nachman Ash needs to sign off on the recommendations before they are implemented, according to Reuters. It was not immediately clear when he was expected to review the measures.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett tweeted Tuesday night that he “gave an order to immediately prepare for a fourth vaccine,” adding that Israel “intends to be active and groundbreaking.”
“The world will follow us,” Bennett wrote.
אני רוצה לומר לכם בנימה אישית, אזרחי ישראל: אנחנו ניצבים בפני אתגר אמיתי, אבל גם הפעם, ביחד ננצח.
— Naftali Bennett בנט (@naftalibennett) December 21, 2021
לילה טוב.
The news came just one day after Israel’s Cabinet voted to ban Israelis from traveling to the United States, Canada and eight other nations amid the omicron surge.
>> Omicron: Israel to ban travel to US, Canada as variant spreads
As of Tuesday, Israel had reported 341 omicron cases and one death related to the variant, the Post reported.
Nearly 70% of Israelis have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while about 63% of residents are fully vaccinated, according to Oxford University’s Our World in Data project. About 4.1 million residents – 44% of the population – have received a third “booster” dose, the Post reported.
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