For most people, living during the COVID-19 pandemic is a bit like being forced to run a hurdle race with a finish line that vanishes once you see it.
It seems like it’ll never end, and the obstacles that seemed easy to jump over at first have become taller and tiresome.
But, while we’re going to complain until life goes back to normal, there’s not much else we can do in the meantime but listen to the advice of health experts.
And in Israel, the experts believe that yet another booster shot is necessary for more vulnerable folks.
Israel Offering 4th COVID-19 Vaccine Jab to People Above 60 Years Old
Israel will offer a second COVID-19 booster shot for elderly people above the age of 60, primarily due to concerns over the Omicron variant.
The variant, which has an unusually high number of mutations, is believed to be more transmissible.
The announcement came following a recommendation from Israel’s Health Ministry expert panel for a fourth vaccine jab. The authorities’ decision has yet to be approved, but Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is already urging older residents to get their second booster.
“My message is – don’t waste time, go get vaccinated,” he said, calling the recommendation “great news that will help us overcome the Omicron wave that is spreading around the world.”
First Omicron Death Reported in Israel Recently
The recommendation came after the first death in Israel of an Omicron case was reported on Monday (20 Dec).
The Soroka Medical Centre said the man, who was in his 60s, had suffered from a number of serious underlying medical conditions.
He died on Monday two weeks after he was admitted to the COVID-19 ward. However, it appears that his demise wasn’t the doing of the Omicron variant.
“His morbidity stemmed mainly from pre-existing sicknesses and not from respiratory infection arising from the coronavirus,” the medical centre said.
At the moment, Israel has 340 reported Omicron cases.
Pfizer Booster Shot Provides Significant Protection Against Omicron Strain
It’s not all bad news, though.
A recent study in Israel showed that a three-shot course of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine provided significant protection against the Omicron variant.
The study compared blood samples from 20 people who had received two vaccine doses 5-6 months earlier to another 20 individuals who had received a booster a month before.
They found that while those who received the two vaccine doses had some protection against the Delta variant, they did not have any neutralisation ability against the Omicron.
On the other hand, the booster increases this protection by about a hundred times, and offers significant protection.
It is, however, around four times lower than the neutralisation ability against the Delta.
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Featured Image: Miriam Doerr Martin Frommherz / Shutterstock.com