Israel offers booster shot of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to adults with weak immune systems

Israel offers third shot of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to adults at risk Israel said on Sunday it will begin offering a third dose of Pfizer Inc's (PFE.N) vaccine to adults with weak immune systems but it was still weighing whether to make the booster available to the general public. Maayan Lubell Reuters

JERUSALEM, July 11 (Reuters) - Israel said on Sunday it will begin offering a third dose of Pfizer Inc's (PFE.N) vaccine to adults with weak immune systems but it was still weighing whether to make the booster available to the general public.

The rapid spread of the Delta variant has sent vaccination rates in Israel back up as new infections have risen over the past month from single digits to around 450 a day, and the country has moved to fast-track its next Pfizer shipment.

Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said that effective immediately, adults with impaired immune systems who had received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine could get a booster shot, with a decision pending on wider distribution. ...

About half of the 46 patients presently hospitalised in Israel in severe condition are vaccinated, and the majority are from risk groups, according to the health authorities. About 5.7 million out of Israel 9.3 population has received at leas one dose.

Israel was not going to rush into any decision on booster shots for the general public, Sharon Alroy-Preis, head of public health at the Health Ministry said.

"It's rather complex. We're presently seeing outbreaks largely among children and their parents who weren't necessarily vaccinated in January and February and we need to identify the (statistical) biases," ...