In another vaccine-world first, third booster shot now offered to every Israeli from age 12
Israeli policy of aggressive vaccination flies in the face of the WHO which has called to halt booster shots due to vaccine inequity
Israel began making the COVID booster shot available to all eligible Israelis from age 12 effective Sunday.
The Jewish state has become the only country in the world to offer the third booster shot at all, let alone to children and teens.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said the booster "is a privilege that no other country has."
"The third dose of the vaccine works. Two million Israelis have already been inoculated. Israel is the only country that has done this, successfully," he said.
He said the effect of the booster is already being seen with a slowdown in morbidity after the recent surge of infections in one of the world's most highly vaccinated nations.
The Israeli policy of aggressive vaccination flies in the face of the World Health Organization (WHO) which has called for a stop to the distribution of booster shots because of vaccine inequity.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has appealed to wealthier countries to share the supply with the "vulnerable" in other nations.
"I understand the concern of all governments to protect their people from the Delta variant. But we cannot accept countries that have already used most of the global supply of vaccines using even more of it, while the world’s most vulnerable people remain unprotected," he said.
WHO officials have also said evidence is inconclusive on whether a booster shot is effective in preventing the spread of the coronavirus.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
