Health experts offered words of caution to the Israeli government, which is looking to offer a fourth COVID-19 shot to its residents.
QUICK FACTS:
- The New York Times reported that health experts offered words of caution to the Israeli government as they enter trials to offer a fourth COVID-19 shot to residents.
- As Israel gets ready to require a fourth COVID-19 shot, The New York Times reported that there could be negative side effects, as was the advice of health experts.
- According to The National File, experts advised that the booster meant to push back against the Omicron variant could cause “immune system fatigue” to the point of compromising the body’s ability to fight the infection.
- Despite the warnings, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has indicated his support of the fourth injection.
- Dr. Boaz Lev, a member of the Israeli government advisory panel, supported the prime minister’s decision, saying that “The price [of Omicron] will be higher if they don’t vaccinate the population a fourth time.
- Despite this newest measure, Bennett wants to brace the nation for a “storm of coronavirus infection, on a scale that we have not seen in Israel before,” according to an interview with Israel’s i24 News.
FROM THE TIMES:
- “JERUSALEM — Israel is considering whether to approve a fourth Covid-19 vaccine dose for vulnerable people to contain the fast-spreading Omicron variant, despite debate among scientists and a lack of evidence either for or against another booster,” the Times reported.
- “The panel of experts advising the Israeli government on the pandemic recognized that uncertainty, but on Tuesday it recommended giving a fourth dose, concluding that the potential benefits outweighed the risks. It pointed to signs of waning immunity a few months after the third shot, and said that any delay in additional doses might prove too late to protect those most at risk.
- “But some scientists warned that the plan could backfire, because too many shots might cause a sort of immune system fatigue, compromising the body’s ability to fight the coronavirus. A few members of the government’s advisory panel raised that concern with respect to the elderly, according to a written summary of the discussion obtained by The New York Times.”
BACKGROUND:
- This information comes as the CDC has weakened its restrictions for quarantine for those diagnosed with COVID-19 in the United States, causing questions about the validity of the recommendations among both political parties, according to The Hill.
- Israel has led the world in COVID-19 protocols, however, their positivity rate has reached its highest level in months just days ago.
- Currently, Israel has reported 1,371,007 known coronavirus cases, with 1,346,518 recoveries and 8,243 total deaths, according to WorldOMeters.
- Of the 16,246 current cases, 16,162 are mild and 84, or .5, are serious or critical.
