TIMES OF ISRAEL
Israel said to delay rollout of 4th COVID shots amid signs Omicron less severe
by Staff
December 23, 2021

The Health Ministry has reportedly decided that Israel will not begin offering fourth doses of the COVID-19 vaccine starting on Sunday as planned for Israelis over 60 and others at risk. The decision was made at a meeting held by the ministry Thursday evening, Channel 13 news reported. Nachman Ash, the ministry’s director-general, has yet to approve the campaign and has been examining data from Britain indicating the Omicron variant of the coronavirus causes less severe illness than the Delta strain, the report noted. Preliminary data suggest that people with Omicron are between 50 and 70 percent less likely to need hospitalization than those with the Delta strain. READ MORE