Israel’s health authorities recommended that at-risk groups and people over 65 get the shot as doses of coronavirus vaccinations designed to combat the highly contagious omicron strain were started to be given out on Thursday.
With the introduction of the new vaccine, Israel becomes one of the first nations to begin disseminating omicron-specific vaccines, continuing its global leadership effort to immunize its population as early as 2021.
Health professionals are expressing growing worries regarding a spike in COVID-19 infections over the following winter.
According to Arsen Arutiunian, a representative of the Israeli healthcare company Clalit, there has been a “huge demand” for the booster since the start of the new promotion. People of all ages, he claimed, have been calling the clinic in droves to make appointments.
The number of significant coronavirus cases hospitalized on Thursday was 95, the lowest number since May. According to estimates from the Health Ministry, COVID-19 has claimed the lives of over 11,600 Israelis since the epidemic began in early 2020.
After striking a partnership with Pfizer to exchange vaccines for medical data, Israel, which has a population of 9.5 million, led the globe in immunizing its citizens against the coronavirus last year.
By last fall, it had successfully immunized more than 60% of its populace with at least two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
Over 800,000 Israelis—out of over 4.5 million—have gotten the fourth dosage of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
U.S. health officials are introducing revised COVID boosters that target the omicron strain this fall after the FDA approved them in August.
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