The Israeli government announced this Thursday (29) that it will begin offering a third dose of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine to people over 60, with the aim of reducing the contagion mainly caused by the delta variant of the coronavirus.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett launched the campaign and said President Isaac Herzog, who is 60, will be the first to receive the booster on Friday.
According to the Israeli Ministry of Health, adults over 60 years old who have taken the second dose of Pfizer’s immunizing agent at least five months ago will receive the third dose. The country’s health authorities planned with the four health services funds to start the campaign for next Sunday, with applications in nursing homes and health centers.
“Reality has proved: vaccines are safe, they’ve been proven to protect against serious illness and death,” Bennett said in a televised speech. “Just like the flu vaccine, which needs to be reapplied from time to time, this is also the case here,” the prime minister said, urging all Israelis who have not yet been immunized to seek vaccinations.
The Israeli Prime Minister explained that the decision was based on “extensive research and analysis and the risk posed by the delta variant”. “We will share all the information we have with the rest of the international community as we go forward,” he added.
Just over two weeks ago, the Israeli government had already authorized the application of the third dose of Pfizer’s immunizer to adults with weakened immune systems, and announced that it was considering distributing those doses to the general population.
US drugmaker Pfizer recently stated that a third dose of its anti-Covid immunizer could “strongly increase” protection against the delta variant of the virus, which is more transmissible than others in circulation, compared to the two-dose regimen. Even so, data released by the company show that protection against Covid-19 remains high for at least six months after vaccination.
source https://pledgetimes.com/israel-to-offer-third-dose-of-pfizer-vaccine-for-over-60s/
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