Israel's Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, said on Sunday that a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose had been approved for those over 60 years old and hospital workers.
Bennett stated in a televised press conference that the country's Health Ministry has approved the fourth dose of the Pfizer-developed vaccine for those over 60 and medical personnel who had received the third dose at least four months earlier. The additional booster, he said, will provide Israel with "a new layer of defence."
Bennett urged the elders to get the booster shot, warning that due to the proliferation of the Omicron variant, Israel is on the edge of another increase in morbidity. According to Bennett, the country might experience "as many as 50,000 additional coronavirus cases."
Israel became one of the first countries to approve the fourth vaccine dose for immune-compromised patients and the elderly living in nursing homes on Thursday. According to numbers released on Sunday by the Health Ministry, 70 percent of Israel's 9.45 million population has received at least one dose of the vaccine, and about 45 percent of Israelis have received all three doses.
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