Israeli Panel Recommends Fourth Vaccine Dose to Age 18 and Over

A health worker prepares a fourth dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at Sheba medical center, in Ramat Gan, Israel, on Friday, Dec. 31, 2021. Israel’s Health Ministry has approved a fourth dose of the coronavirus vaccine for highly vulnerable populations, a step back from an original plan to administer it to everyone aged 60 and over. , Bloomberg

Alisa Odenheimer, Bloomberg News

Jan 25, 2022

Share

(Bloomberg) -- A panel of Israeli health experts has recommended offering a fourth dose of coronavirus vaccine to all adults age 18 and over. 

The dose would be administered only to those who received the vaccine at least five months earlier or recovered from coronavirus at least five months before, the Health Ministry said in a text message. The ministry’s director-general, Nachman Ash, would have to approve the recommendation for it to go into effect. 

Read: Fourth Shot Gives Protection From Covid Infection, Israel Says

The recommendation was made after a ministry study showed that the fourth dose provided three to five times more protection against serious illness, and twice as much protection against infection than just a third dose. Israel began administering a fourth inoculation to the immunocompromised and people 60 and over earlier this month. 

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.