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Israel set to offer fourth dose of Covid vaccine to people over 60

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On August 24, 2021, Holon, a paramedic from Israel’s Magen Adom medical services administers the third dose of the Pfizer BioNTech Covid-19 vaccination.

Ahmad Gharabli | AFP | Getty Images

Israel said Tuesday it would offer the fourth dose of Covid-19 to older people, amid concerns about the spreading of the coronavirus omicron.

The fourth shot was recommended by a panel of experts from the Health Ministry. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett quickly welcomed the decision as “great news” that would help to overcome the worldwide omicron wave.

Although the decision is pending formal approval by senior health officials, Bennett urged Israelis to get the dose as soon as possible, saying: “My message is — don’t waste time, go get vaccinated.”

Following the death of the Omicron-related patient in Israel, this decision was taken. A hospital in Israel confirmed his death on Tuesday, but stated that he was suffering from serious pre-existing conditions.

Beersheba’s Soroka Medical Center said that the man died on Monday. This was two weeks after his admission to the coronavirus-ward.

According to a hospital statement, the patient had a number of severe illnesses. According to the hospital, “His morbidity was primarily due to preexisting conditions and not respiratory infection caused by the coronavirus.”

The Health Ministry reported Tuesday that there are at least 340 cases of Omicron infection in Israel.

Israel has extended a travel ban for countries such as Canada, Germany, Italy and Turkey this week to stop the spread.

Bennett’s office stated that it also authorized a reduction of 50% in office attendance for public sector workers to encourage remote work.

Benny Gantz, the Defence Minister ordered that the Homefront Command be prepared for the possible occurrence of 5,000 additional cases each day. His office confirmed this.

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