Israel expands eligibility for coronavirus booster shot

Israel is now allowing people 50 years and older to receive a COVID-19 booster shot, a revision from the previous eligibility of 60 years and up. 

After an advisory panel issued a recommendation that the age requirement for a COVID-19 booster shot be expanded, Israel’s health ministry director-general approved it on Thursday, making way for Israel to amend its age requirement Friday, Reuters reported.

Israel residents aged 60 and older, including Israeli President Isaac Herzog, started receiving their third shot two weeks ago, with more than 700,000 receiving a booster shot so far, the wire service reported.

Health care workers may also receive a booster shot.

Israel, which has seen an increase of confirmed COVID-19 cases in recent days, hopes to stem the number of new infections in the country. On Thursday, the country reported 1,661 confirmed cases. Cases were in the hundreds in early July. 

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized a third shot Thursday to people with compromised immune systems. The authorization allows qualified people to get a third shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. 

According to the FDA, those who qualify under the authorization include people with ​​organ transplants and individuals “diagnosed with conditions that are considered to have an equivalent level of immunocompromise.”

The group of those allowed to receive a third shot in the U.S. is much smaller than that of Israel, though President Biden’s chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci has said “inevitably” the rest of the population will at some point need a booster shot. 

Health officials have said booster shots for otherwise healthy people who are fully vaccinated do not need a third shot at this time.