Israel discussing COVID-19 booster jab with pharma firms as Delta variant spreads: Bennett

Israel Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on July 14 said that the country is discussing COVID-19 booster shots with several drugmakers as the Delta variant-driven surge in coronavirus infections continue to raise concerns, stated reports. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) also said on Wednesday that the Delta variant has been detected in at least 111 countries in the last two months and was expected to become the dominant variant across the globe in the coming months. Israel Health Ministry has said that the about 90% of confirmed cases of COVID-19 are of Delta variant. 

In a news conference detailing his cabinet’s strategy for stemming the surge of Delta variant, Bennett said in Jerusalem, “We are in a dialogue with the pharma companies about the booster issue, whether a booster of the original shot or an adapted booster shot.” 

With regards to Israel’s immunisation campaign, 60% of the 9.3 million population has received at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine produced by Pfizer and partner BioNTech. Delta variant was first detected in India and since then it has driven fresh waves of coronavirus infections. Flagging the concerns regarding the same, WHO Secretary-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus issued a warning to the nations that the “early phases” of the third wave of COVID-19 pandemic. He said, “Unfortunately...we are now in the early stages of a third wave.”

Earlier, the WHO chief also said that the delta variant is “ripping at a scorching pace, driving a new spike in cases and deaths.” in a press briefing on July 12, he said, “The Delta variant is ripping around the world at a scorching pace, driving a new spike in cases and death...Delta is now in more than 104 countries and we expect it to soon be the dominant COVID-19 strain circulating worldwide.”

“We are in the midst of a growing two-track pandemic where the haves and have-nots within and between countries are increasingly divergent", said the WHO chief.

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