Israel president, wife receive COVID booster shot

Israel's President Isaac Herzog was the first person to receive a third COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, as the country started rolling out the booster shots to its older residents. His wife was also vaccinated at Ramat Gan's Sheba medical centre. On Thursday, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced that the country would offer the booster to people over 60 who have already been vaccinated. It will also be offered to the general public.

The move 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 suggestions that the vaccine's efficacy dwindles over time.

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.