Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett received a third shot of Pfizer/BioNtech's COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, after Israel extended its booster campaign for people over 40 to try to curb the Delta coronavirus variant, APA reports citing Reuters.
New cases in Israel have surged since Delta's emergence and Bennett, 49, has sought to avoid an economically painful national lockdown by ramping up third doses.
People over 60 began receiving third doses in July, before the minimum age of eligibility was dropped to 50. Health Ministry officials cited waning immunity and Delta's high infectiousness.
The Health Ministry said on Friday boosters would now be administered to people over 40 whose second shot was at least five months ago. It recommended teachers, health workers, carers of the elderly, and pregnant women of all ages have the shot.
The United States has announced plans to offer booster shots to all Americans, citing data showing diminishing protection. Canada, France and Germany have announced booster campaigns.
"If you go get vaccinated with a third shot, we will be able to avoid a fourth lockdown," Bennett said before he was shown live on social media receiving his shot. He said Israel would share its data.
Over 1 million of Israel's 9.3 million population has received a third shot, which an Israeli healthcare provider said on Wednesday was 86% effective in preventing infection.
Israeli health officials have said they are seeing initial signs that the booster campaign may be slowing the rate at which cases are climbing.
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