Israel to become First Nation to provide 4 Shots of Covid-19 Vaccine

Israel is planning to become the first country to introduce a fourth dose of the Covid-19 vaccine as the country prepares for a wave of infections driven by the new Omicron variant. Epidemiologists in Israel have recommended a fourth booster for health workers over 60 years of age. PM Naftali Bennett welcomed the plan and asked the officials to start preparations.  

On Tuesday, Israel has confirmed the first known death of a patient with the Omicron variant. The health ministry said there were at least 340 known cases of this type in Israel. The decision to roll out a fourth booster is still pending on approval by senior health officials, although Mr. Bennett's office told the BBC it was hoping to give people the dose at least four months after their third dose. 

Mr. Bennett urged people to accept the offer as soon as possible, saying, "My message is - don’t waste time, go get vaccinated", quoted by Reuters. When the Covid-19 vaccination program was first launched, Israel's jabs were rolled out quickly and had a relatively high take-up. However, despite this, only about 63% of its population of 9.3 million have taken two doses. This is partly due to Israel being a relatively young country – almost a third of its population is under the age of 14.

To help combat this, in November Israel announced that even children as young as five can get the jab. On Monday, Mr. Bennett said he wanted every eligible child to get the vaccine within the next two weeks to help "delay and slow down and reduce" the strength of another wave of infections.