Israel is considering whether to approve a fourth Covid-19 vaccine dose for those over age 60, the immunocompromised and health care workers to contain the fast-spreading Omicron variant, despite debate among scientists and a lack of evidence about another booster.
Though there is not much scientific data, the pandemic response advisers concluded that the potential benefits outweighed the risks, pointing to signs of waning immunity a few months after the third shot and arguing that a delay in additional vaccine doses might prove too late to protect those most at risk. Fourth doses could be given as soon as Sunday.
“The price will be higher if we don’t vaccinate,” Dr. Boaz Lev, the head of the advisory panel, said at a news conference late Wednesday. But other members of the panel worried about a diminished immunological response in older people after multiple vaccinations within a short period of time.
Context: Israel was among the first countries to offer its residents a third shot, starting over the summer, and it would be well ahead of other nations in administering a fourth dose.
New York Times