Jerusalem: Israel said on Sunday it will start offering booster shots from the Pfizer Inc vaccine for adults with a weak immune system but still weighing whether the third round of shots must be given to the general public.
The rapid spread of the Delta variant has sent a level of vaccination in Israel when a new infection has increased for the past month from one digit to around 450 days, and the country has moved to the next Pfizer shipping path.
Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said that effective immediately, an adult with an immune system disruption that has received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine can get a booster shot, with a decision delayed by a wider distribution.
Pfizer and partner Bionech SE, a major supplier in the launch of fast Israeli vaccination that began in December, said on Thursday they would ask us and European regulators in a few weeks to pass the booster’s shot.
The two companies quoted an increased risk of infection after six months in finding permission for third shots.
Drawing criticism from some scientists and officials, the company does not distribute data that shows that risk, but said it will be immediately published.
“We are checking this problem and we still don’t have a final answer,” Horowitz, talked about Radio Public Kan, said about booster for the general population in Israel.
“However we only manage third shots to people who suffer from immunodeficiency …
for example people who have undergone organ transplants or suffer from medical conditions that cause a decrease in immunity.” About half of 46 patients currently being hospitalized in Israel in severe conditions vaccinated, according to the Ministry of Health data.
The Pandemic Response Coordinator of the Coronavirus Israel, Nachman Ash, said on Wednesday the majority of them came from the risk group, above the age of 60 and had a previous health problem.
Horowitz said that separately, the Ministry of Health would plug in the gap in the supply of PFIZER for the inoculation of two ongoing doses of the general adult population using the Moderna Vaccine Inc.
already in stock.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a spark of broadcast to his cabinet on Sunday that he had agreed with the Pfizer to advance the next dose delivery until August 1 has arrived in September.
There is no response directly from Pfizer to a comment request.
Israel hopes that prior shipping will allow more young people to be vaccinated before the start of the school year in September.
Under the Ministry of Health’s regulations, Israeli youth can receive pfizer shots but have not been produced by modern.
Israel almost exclusively gave a pfizer shot to around 60% of 9.3 million populations.
But the batch of 700,000 doses because expiration at the end of July was sent to South Korea, because the recent slowdown in vaccination speeds would likely see a waste dose.
Under the swap agreement, Seoul will return the same number of shots, already ordered from Pfizer, in September and October.
“We have a modern and mature vaccine who wants vaccination to do it from this morning, or maybe tomorrow, with a modern vaccine,” Horowitz said.