Omicron: Israel offer 4th Covid vaccine to people over 60, medical professionals

Jerusalem: Israel says it plans to become the first country to roll out a fourth dose of the Covid-19 vaccine as the new wave of infections has been hit by the new variant Omicron.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Tuesday informed that Israelis over the age of 60 and medical teams will be eligible for a fourth Covid vaccination dose, following the recommendation of an expert panel.

The move comes amid concern over the spread of the Omicron variant and the first death of a patient with the strain in Israel was confirmed on Tuesday.

“I gave an order to prepare immediately for a fourth vaccination,” Bennett said on Twitter, with a spokesperson saying Israel would be the world’s first country to administer the fourth shot.

There were at least 340 known cases of Omicron in Israel on Tuesday, said health ministry.

The citizens of Israel were the first in the world to receive the third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and we are continuing to pioneer with the fourth dose as well.”

The decision to roll out a fourth booster is still pending approval by senior health officials.

Earlier Tuesday, lawmakers banned citizens and residents from US travel, adding it to a list of more than 50 countries declared off-limits in an effort to contain the Omicron coronavirus variant.

The latest Israeli restrictions were approved as the health ministry reported that as of Tuesday there were 1,148 confirmed or “highly likely” Omicron cases in the country. More than half the cases were among vaccinated people.

Also Tuesday, the Soroka medical centre in Beersheba announced that a man infected with Omicron had died, in what was believed to be Israel’s first death by the variant.

The Soroka Medical center in Beersheba informed, The first patient with Omicron to die was a man in his 60s who suffered from a number of serious pre-existing conditions.