All Israelis aged 40 and up can now get a coronavirus vaccine, the Health Ministry announced Tuesday, with the rapid inoculation campaign gaining more steam in the hopes of overcoming record-high infections, the Times of Israel reports.
After reports said the Clalit and Maccabi health maintenance organizations were expanding vaccinations to include those aged 40+, the ministry said it had given approval to all four Israeli health providers to do so.
Health Minister Yuli Edelstein ordered health providers to prepare to administer up to 250,000 shots per day in the coming days, the ministry said.
The Health Ministry also published a statement by the Israel Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology recommending that vaccines be given to pregnant women and nursing mothers who are interested in getting it, particularly if they have COVID-19 risk factors and after consulting their doctors. It said the “only reason” there is no blanket recommendation to vaccinate pregnant women is that they were excluded from the vaccine companies’ trials.
The statement came against the backdrop of several cases of pregnant Israeli women becoming critically ill with COVID-19.
Israel confirmed more than 10,000 new coronavirus cases Monday for the first time since the pandemic began, despite the ongoing nationwide lockdown. This brings the country’s total caseload since the start of the pandemic to 562,619, including 81,250 active cases.
There were 1,174 serious cases, including 356 in critical condition and 304 on ventilators. The death toll grew to 4,060.
The so-called coronavirus cabinet will convene Tuesday afternoon to decide whether to extend the current lockdown beyond Thursday. It is widely expected to be extended by at least a week, as a report Monday said ministers would be presented with a grim prediction of a potential renewed major outbreak in the coming months.
According to the prediction, even the relatively few members of risk groups that haven’t vaccinated could be enough to send hundreds of serious COVID-19 patients to already overcrowded hospital wards, which are currently under immense strain.
Coronavirus czar Nachman Ash told Radio 103FM on Tuesday that the infection rates were “scary,” but that the upward trend was starting to reverse.
“My prediction is that we will see a drop in the number of serious patients, but the strain on hospitals will continue,” he added. “The lockdown must be extended by two weeks.”
