People over 60 to receive third dose of Pfizer vaccine in Israel

Israel’s healthcare workers will begin inoculating people over 60 years of age with the third dose of the coronavirus vaccine from the American company Pfizer from August 1 to strengthen immunity against new coronavirus strains, Israel’s state-run radio Kan reported on Thursday.

Report informs, citing TASS, that, according to the radio station, the director-general of the Israeli Ministry of Health, Nachman Ash, told the public health authorities that vaccinate the population that from August 1, they can offer injections with a third dose of Pfizer to people over 60 years old to prevent further spread of the delta strain. The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said that the head of the Cabinet of Ministers Naftali Bennett on Thursday would hold a meeting on the third additional vaccination in the building of the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv with the participation of Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz and the Director-General of the Ministry of Health.

The Israeli Ministry of Health on Tuesday allowed children aged 5 to 11 years to be vaccinated against coronavirus out of fears that they can develop severe forms of COVID or die of the infection. The vaccination of Israelis with Pfizer began on December 20 last year. According to the Ministry of Health, to date, 5.775 million Israelis have received the first dose, 5.346 million have got their second dose, more than 62% and 57% of the country’s total population of 9.3 million, respectively. Since June 2021, doctors in Israel have begun to vaccinate adolescents aged 12 to 15 years.