Israel rules out fourth COVID-19 shot for now

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Israel’s vaccination committee announced Sunday it will not be recommending a fourth Covid-19 shot to the general population, despite concerns about the new impact of the new Omicron variant, i24 News reports. Israel was the first country to introduce a third shot, even before the US Food and Drug Administration approved the measure.

The Israeli Health Ministry vaccination committee had convened to consider a fourth shot as 67 cases of the new Omicron variant were detected in the country, and many more cases are being investigated, the Jerusalem Post reports. Ultimately, however, the committee decided against the fourth shot, even for groups such as the elderly and immunocompromised.

As and when a fourth shot is recommended, this will reportedly be for vulnerable groups rather than the population at large, i24 said. “We still do not see the possibility of administering a fourth vaccine to the general population, but first and foremost to high-risk populations,” Health Ministry Director-General Nachman Ash said in a statement.

Together with the Health Ministry, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennet has been campaigning hard for the population to take a third booster shot as the double Pfizer vaccines appear to be less effective against the new variant. The government is also pushing for children to be vaccinated.

Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the US recommended a fourth shot for immunocompromised people in October, JPost reports.

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