JERUSALEM – Children aged 5 to 11 at risk of serious health complications can be vaccinated against Covid-19 as of August 1, said Israeli health officials yesterday.
The Israeli Health Ministry gave the green light for the vaccinations to children who are “at significant risk of serious illness or death” from the coronavirus.
“This is a special authorisation, and each vaccination will be studied on a case-by-case basis,” said a ministry spokesman.
The ministry on Tuesday issued a list of medical problems where a vaccination was advised.
It includes children with brain, heart or lung problems, severe immunosuppression, sickle cell anaemia, pulmonary hypertension and severe obesity.
These children will be offered a Pfizer-BioNTech dose of 0.1ml – three times less than the standard vaccine.
Last month, health officials extended vaccination to children aged 12 to 16.
About 55% of the population in Israel has been double vaccinated with Pfizer-BioNTech, thanks to a massive campaign launched in late December after an agreement with the pharmaceutical giant.
Israel’s digitised medical databases also allowed for rapid large-scale studies.
Its initial vaccine roll-out was among the fastest in the world, delivering two doses of the shot to more than 55% of the population.
Case numbers dramatically dropped, and in early June, Israel eased many restrictions.
But soon after, as cases rose, the Health Ministry reimposed a requirement for masks to be worn in enclosed public places.
The authorities have also announced a partial return to the “health pass” programme, where all events with more than 100 participants will be restricted to people who have been vaccinated, recovered from the virus or have had a recent negative test. – AFP, July 29, 2021
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