Israel announced Wednesday that it would start making fourth Covid-19 vaccine shots available to all vulnerable people aged over 18, continuing its drive to beat successive virus waves with top-up jabs.
The findings compare with the overall efficacy of around 95% in a two-dose regimen 21 days apart for the vaccine.This may lead to a debate over the recommended two-dose schedule as Canadian researchers had earlier suggested that the second Pfizer dose be delayed
The United States has administered at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose to about 12% of the population, equaling just under 40 million people. Of that group, about 15 million have completed the multi-dose regimen.
Health officials continue to state it will take several months for enough vaccines to become available to the general public, as they stress the continued importance of the 3 Ws. It s advice that will only continue, even as more people become vaccinated. Vaccinations are important, but in no way can it be the only measure we rely on in the coming weeks and months. We re still in the US, still months away from reaching herd immunity through vaccinations. And even in Israel, which is even further ahead of us, they re not letting loose on all the other restrictions and interventions from a public health perspective, said Dr. Krishna Udayakumar, the founding director of the Duke Global Health Initiative.
Clalit, the largest of Israel s four health care providers, released a study that compared infections in 600,000 Israelis who had received the vaccine compared to 600,000 who were not immunised.