Omicron Alert: In world first. Israel set to give 4th Covid vaccine shot

In a first in the world, Israel is set to begin offering a fourth Covid-19 vaccine shot for over 60s, some at-risk groups and medical personnel. The move has come in the wake of the Omicron threat.

A panel of health experts recommended that medical personnel, adults over the age of 60 and other at-risk groups get the fourth dose, after waiting at least four months since the third dose.

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Welcoming the move, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that it will assist Israel in getting through the Omicron wave that is "engulfing the world”. Bennett added that the additional shot would also be administered to health care workers.

Israel previously pioneered a third booster shot, rolling it out for at-risk groups before expanding the program to the general population weeks later, before much of the rest of the world. Over four million out of 9.3 million Israelis have received the third dose.