Contrary to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claims the previous day that Israelis would undergo another round of coronavirus vaccinations in six months’ time, national virus Tsar Nachman Ash said on Wednesday that he did not know when the expected campaign would take place.
‘I can not say when we will get another vaccine [shot]”Maybe in six months, maybe in a year, maybe even longer,” Ash told Army Radio.
He explained that the assumption is that the vaccine shots issued so far will eventually lose their effectiveness and that the current vaccination may not provide protection against new strains of the virus, creating the need for further doses.
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“If we see that the vaccine is surprisingly good and will remain effective for a long time to come” and without any virus variants that pose new threats, it could take more time before Israelites have another chance, Ash said.
There are already concerns about the effectiveness of the vaccines against a new strain of coronavirus that first emerged in India and was detected in a handful of patients in Israel.
Ash said health officials are still working to determine the situation and that answers should come within a few weeks.
A UK mutation of the virus was blamed for a sudden increase in infections at the beginning of the year and has helped ease a third national exclusion in recent months.
Ash also reiterated that the vaccination of children under the age of 16 against COVID-19 will only begin after the US Food and Drug Administration has given permission to vaccinate young people of that age.
He said that although COVID-19 symptoms appear milder among children, it will still be important to be vaccinated when it comes.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will deliver a press conference in the Office of the Prime Minister in Jerusalem on April 20, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel / Flash90)
Ash also confirmed to the station that Israel was trying to suspend its order of AstraZeneca vaccines, saying ‘they are not necessary’, but gave no further explanation.
Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel is ready in six months for another vaccination campaign against coronavirus, which will include children, in a follow-up to the country’s world leader who has already completed the vaccination of more than half of the population.
“Prepare your shoulders … and children,” Netanyahu told a news conference, predicting that COVID-19 vaccines would be approved for use in children by that time.
Netanyahu’s prediction was apparently based on remarks by Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, who said last week that he believed a third dose of the company’s vaccine would be needed ‘between 6-12 months’ after the first two doses. , and annually thereafter. Pfizer said the vaccine it developed with BioNTech in Germany remains 91% effective after 6 months.
The prime minister’s announcement comes a day after Israel signed new supply agreements with Pfizer and Moderna. The exact number of doses from each company remains secret, but Hebrew media reports say Israel has agreed to pay a total of 18 million shots from the two U.S. companies, with the option to buy another million after it is used.
