Israel is struggling with a sharply rising number of Covid-19 cases despite an impressive vaccination campaign. A third dose is already being administered and a fourth could follow next year.
Israelis could receive a booster shot every five to six months to fight the different corona variants, says Salman Zarka, the director of Ziv Medical Center in Safed.
“The virus is here and here to stay. That is why we must also prepare for a fourth injection. This is our life from now on, in waves (of the virus, ed.)”, Zarka said on the local radio station can.
In August Zarka told the Times of Israel that people should brace themselves for receiving multiple doses that can cope with variants of the coronavirus.
“If we have learned anything from the fourth wave of contagion, it is that we can expand the possibility of new waves through variants, like the ones from South America, cannot rule out,” he said.
0.2 percent of the population infected in one day
Zarka foresees that Israel will adopt a new vaccine strategy by the end of 2021 and early 2022. “Looking at the declining effectiveness of vaccines and the decline in antibody performance after a few months, it looks like we’re going to need a shot every other year, or every six months,” said Zarka.
Israel is currently grappling with a fourth wave of the virus. On September 1, there were more than 20,000 infections established, nearly 0.2 percent of the total population in the country. That is the highest number of cases recorded in a single day in the country since the start of the pandemic.
Third shot for people over 12 years old
Administering booster shots would increase the population protect against serious complications of Covid-19, say researchers.
Israel has therefore started vaccinating people over the age of 60 since July. According to government data, this would have helped to keep the number of hospitalizations low. The country has since started administering a third shot to anyone over the age of 12.
Since last Friday, 2.5 million people in the country have already received a third shot. When a possible fourth shot is exactly planned is unknown.
(am)
Also read: Booster shots work well against severe Covid cases, Israeli data shows
–
