Health Ministry Director General Prof. Nachman Ash on Thursday said that he supports expanding Israel's coronavirus booster shot campaign to the over 40s.
"We know that the vaccine's decreased effectiveness affects all age groups," he told Ynet. "We know that infections among people over the age of 40 could lead to serious illness and even death, which is why we are considering this measure very seriously and will bring it up to debate today."
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A man receives his coronavirus vaccine booster shot at a clinic in Jerusalem
(Photo: EPA)
Ash explained that the main reason the Health Ministry has yet to do so was due to the booster not yet receiving FDA approval.
"This is a first step we are implementing very carefully," he said. "Among the older population, we know the vaccine saves lives and the side-effects are few."
The coronavirus cabinet on Wednesday night approved a set of restrictions on gatherings, hoping to curb an ever-growing surge of COVID-19 infections nationwide in what looked like a last-ditch effort to avoid going into a devastating lockdown.
The measures include an expansion to the Green Pass in public places to include all Israelis aged 3 and over, restrict the number of customers allowed in shopping malls and stores at any given time and a cap on the number of participants in public and private events.
Commenting on the new measures, Ash said that while he was satisfied with the government's action, he warned that if the steps taken do not bring down serious morbidity within the next week or two, there is very serious worry that Israel's hospitals will be over capacity.
Asked whether the cabinet should have decided on more significant restrictions, Ash said that while those might have brought down infections, "there must be a balance between health needs and the needs of the economy."
Earlier on Wednesday, Bennett announced an immediate investment of NIS 2.5 billion in the healthcare system to help it better cope with the rapid spread of the Delta coronavirus variant.
"Today, we are giving a boost to the health system in Israel and to the medical teams that are fighting there for our health," Bennett said at the opening of a televised press conference after meeting with hospital directors.
"The race between Delta and the vaccination campaign requires us to prepare for a surge in the number of patients hospitalized. We must allow the hospitals' capacity to increase in order to buy time until the effects of the vaccination campaign kick in and begin to block and eventually fend off the outbreak."
To that end, Bennett said, "we are immediately transferring NIS 2.5 billion to bolster the Israeli healthcare system now and later", adding 770 hospitals beds and hiring 2,000 more doctors, nurses, hospital staff and paramedics as well as recruiting further 3,000 medicine students.