Israel to offer Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine booster shots to adults with weak immune system

Amid the rising number of coronavirus cases, Israel on Sunday, July 11 said that it will begin offering a booster shot of Pfizer vaccine to adults with weak immune systems. The Delta variant, which was first detected in India, 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. With a surge in cases, Israel’s Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz on Sunday announced 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. 

Pfizer and partner BioNTech, the main suppliers in the Israeli vaccination rollout, have said that they will ask the US and the European regulators within weeks to authorise booster shots for a COVID-19 booster dose in August. Based on data from a recent study, Pfizer said that its vaccine showed strong neutralization against the Delta variant after two doses. It anticipates that the antibodies will be higher after a third dose and are performing clinical trials to determine the same.

While US and EU regulators have still not given a nod to Pfizer, Horowitz said that the officials are examining the issue, when asked about a booster for the general population in Israel. While speaking on Kan public radio, the Israeli health minister said that for now, the government is administering a third shot to people suffering from immunodeficiency. “These are for instance people who have undergone organ transplants or suffer from a medical condition which causes a drop in immunity,” Horowitz said. 

Israel strikes Pfizer deal for new batch 

The decision to administer a booster shot comes after the health ministry informed that about a half of 46 patients presently hospitalised in Israel in severe condition are vaccinated. As per reports, Israel's coronavirus pandemic response coordinator, Nachman Ash, said the overwhelming majority of them are from risk groups, over the age of 60 and have prior health problems. It is worth noting that the country has almost exclusively administered Pfizer shots to around 60% of its 9.3 million population. 

Israel’s PM Naftali Bennett has also informed that the country has struck deal with Pfizer to receive a fresh batch of coronavirus vaccines in August to help its drive to vaccinate teenagers. Bennett said at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting that the agreement to advance the delivery of new vaccines to August 1is to “ensure from this moment a continuous supply of vaccines in the state of Israel”. He added that the country had vaccinated over 200,000 people in recent weeks. 

(Image: AP)