Skip to main content

Israel approves COVID-19 booster for ages 50+

Health care workers, prisoners and people with weak immune system are also eligible to receive a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
An Israeli medic anministers a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against the coronavirus to a man, at a Clalit Health Services station set up inside Cinema City complex in Jerusalem, on Aug. 11, 2021.

Israel expanded eligibility for a coronavirus booster shot on Friday, lowering the minimum age requirement to 50 from 60 in order to help curb the rapidly spreading Delta variant. 

Israel, which offered the third shot to people with compromised immune systems in June, is now the world’s first country to authorize Pfizer-BioNTech booster shots for those over 50. Others eligible for the booster include health care workers, prisoners and wardens. The Times of Israel reports that as of Friday morning, 775,703 people in Israel have received a third dose

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.