[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Israel will begin administering COVID-19 vaccine booster shots to seniors aged 60 and over starting next month. This decision comes in response to the increase in new infections and severe cases due to the spread of the Delta variant.
According to local media on the 29th (local time), the Israeli Ministry of Health notified healthcare maintenance organizations (HMO), which are vaccine administration bodies, of this decision. The Ministry's vaccine advisory committee unanimously recommended the third dose for the elderly the day before.
The first recipient will be President Isaac Herzog, who is 60 years old this year. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett stated, "President Herzog is scheduled to receive the booster shot on the 30th," adding, "Our strategy is to protect lives and daily life."
Israel is the first country in the world to approve booster shot vaccinations. Since mid-this month, booster shots have already been administered to immunocompromised individuals such as organ transplant patients.
Since starting vaccinations in December last year, 66.7% of Israel's population had received the first dose and 61.8% had completed the second dose as of the day before. Although close to the herd immunity threshold (70%), the recent spread of the Delta variant has caused a sharp increase in confirmed and severe cases.
The number of new cases, which had surged to the 10,000 range in January this year, dropped to single digits by early June due to the high vaccination rate. In response, Israel lifted all quarantine measures including indoor mask mandates last month, but the number of confirmed cases has recently surged sharply to the 2,000 range. Severe cases also increased from 62 on the 20th to 159 on this day.
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