Israel starts offering booster 3rd COVID shot

Israel on Friday began offering a third COVID-19 booster shot to its older citizens.

On Thursday, the country's Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced that the country would offer a coronavirus booster to people over 60 who have already been vaccinated.

The announcement makes Israel, which launched one of the world's most successful vaccination drives earlier this year, the first country to offer a third dose of a Western vaccine to its citizens on a wide scale.

The decision comes at a time of rising infections and signs that the vaccine's efficacy dwindles over time.

Anyone over 60 who was vaccinated more than five months ago will be eligible.

Neither the US nor the EU have approved coronavirus booster shots.

It's not yet proven if a third dose helps and, if so, who needs one and when.

The World Health Organization said earlier this month that there is not enough evidence to show that a third dose is needed.

The agency's officials have appealed for wealthier countries to share vaccines with poorer nations that have yet to immunise their people, instead of using them as boosters.

Israel itself has come under criticism for not sharing more of its vaccines with the Palestinians.

The Israeli Health Ministry recorded at least 2,165 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, following an accelerating rise in infections over the past month.