Israel Is The First Country In The World To Give A Green Signal To Third COVID Shot For People Above 60 Years

After people from Israel have been banned from traveling to four more countries and the green pass has been made mandatory, four major health funds of the country have announced that they are planning to vaccinate people who are above 60 years with the third dose of COVID19 shot. A unanimous majority of 56 versus 1 from the Health Ministry’s Coronavirus Committee has voted in favor of giving a third dose of Pfizer shot to senior citizens. Health experts have said that elderly people who are above 60 years and have been vaccinated more than five months ago will be eligible for the third dose of the COVID19 vaccine. Israel is the first country to give a green signal to the third jab of coronavirus shot. On the other hand, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has still not authorized the third job in the United States. Health experts have said that President Isaac Herzog will be the first one to receive the booster shot in the country. As per the latest news, Maccabi Health Services has informed that the vaccination for booster shots will start this week itself. The officials from other health funds have said that they will start taking appointments for booster shots from this weekend. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has said that the new vaccination strategy aims to protect people’s lives and their daily routines. Prime Minister Bennett has said that the decision to rollout booster shot has been taken after analyzing the findings of many studies and looking at the rise and spread of the Delta variant that has been termed as one of the most infectious variants of coronavirus.

Health experts have revealed that Israel as well has inoculated more than 2000 people who have been dealing with compromised immune systems with a third dose of the vaccine. Now, the officials are going to kick-start a nationwide third-dose vaccination program as well. Health authorities in Israel have said that they are going to share the rest of the details of their booster shot vaccination with the global community as they go ahead with their new strategy. Professor Nimrod Maimon, who is the chief of the Magen Avot V’Imahot program has called a meeting of delegates of the assisted living facilities of the country and said that people who are being facilitated there, will be given booster shots at their homes. Health authorities in Israel have taken this decision after Pfizer has told its investors that the third dose of their shot is able to elevate the levels of antibodies by five to 11 times among people. The officials from Pfizer have said that they are going to submit their application for emergency use authorization (EMU) for the third dose of their COVID19 shot in the month of August. As per the latest report, the Israel Gerontological Society as well is going to administer the third dose of the vaccine to its residents soon. It represents around 100 nursing homes and geriatric hospitals in the country.

Health experts from the country have said that the Delta variant has been circulating in Israel quite rapidly. Israel has reported 2177 new cases of COVID19 this week. The Health Ministry has said that around 2.36 percent of people who have been screened for COVID19 have been diagnosed with the disease. Around 26 people have been put on intubation and 151 people have been hospitalized with severe infection. One patient has lost his life due to the disease at Soroka Medical Center. The person who has died has not been identified with any other underlying medical issue, said the experts. As per a report from the Coronavirus National Information and Knowledge Center, in the absence of quick action and extensive vaccination coverage, the number of new and severe cases is going to shoot up to such an extent that it will result in congestion in the community health center and hospitals across the country. Health experts have said that most new cases are taking place among the younger population. Unvaccinated children as well are contributing to new cases that are being reported in Israel. Experts have said that the county has started to witness new cases among elderly people as well who have been vaccinated four or five months ago. A preliminary study by the Health Ministry has shown that the COVID19 shot developed by Pfizer-BioNTech has been proved to be only 16 percent effective against the Delta strain in people who have been vaccinated so far. As per the authors of the study, the efficiency of Pfizer shot has reduced from 97 percent to 81 percent in people who are above 60 years. Professor Eran Segal from the Weizmann Institute of Science has said that earlier, the chances of vaccinated people who are above 60 years getting infected with the virus has been 3 percent and now it is around 19 percent that means the risk of getting reinfection has increased six times more. The Health Ministry has requested the Knesset to add countries such as the UK, Turkey, Cyprus, and Georgia to the list of countries where people from Israel are banned from traveling. As per the latest report, some of the popular tourist destinations such as Greece, Bulgaria, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as well are going to be included in the banned list. People from Israel are already prohibited from visiting countries such as Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, Uzbekistan, Spain, Belarus, India, Russia, and Kyrgyzstan, said the experts. Health authorities have recently reinstated the Green pass program in the country. Under the program, people who are above 12 years need to show a vaccination or recovery certificate or a negative COVID19 test to be a part of an event or location that includes more than 100 people. Experts have said that the COVID19 negative test should be taken within 72 hours. This pass is needed to participate in a cultural or sports event. It is also required to enter hotels, cafes, bars, gyms, tourist attractions, and restaurants as well.