As part of world's fastest vaccination programme, Israel begins rolling out coronavirus booster shots
A medical worker gets her second vaccination injection against the coronavirus disease as Israel continues its national vaccination drive, during a third national COVID-19 lockdown, at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov Hospital) in Tel Aviv, Israe
The world's fastest per capita vaccination programme in Israelmoved on to administering booster shots on Sunday.
Israel intends to inoculate its most vulnerable citizens by February, after which it plans to open up the economy. Israel has been administering Pfizer coronavirus shots on citizens aged above 60 since December 19. Now, these people are set to receive their final follow-up doses.
"It changes everything,"Guy Choshen, a director of the coronavirus ward at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, who got his second injection told Reuters. "I'm really happy that I'm over that (and) looking forward for all this epidemic to be finished", Choshen added.
According to the country's health ministry, over 19.5 per cent of the Israeli population have received vaccinations. This includes over 72 per cent of Israelis aged over 60.
Also read:2 million planned to be vaccinated in Israel by end of January
Even now, the elderly who haven't received their first shots will be prioritised. But otherwise, vaccines are now being reserved for booster shots.
Israel has the world's fastest vaccination rate, as per data from the Our World in Data website, run by research organisation Oxford Martin School.
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Trailing close is the United Arab Emirates, which has inoculated 10 per cent of its population. Bahrain and the United States follow suit with 5 per cent and 2 per cent respectively.
Earlier, Prime Minister Netanyahu had claimed that the country intends to vaccinate a quarter of its population within a month.
"I spoke over the weekend with the heads of the companies that are providing us with the vaccines and I told them that our goal by next weekend is to reach 150,000 vaccines a day," Netanyahu claimed in a video.
"This means that within 30 days of reaching this pace we will have administered 4.5 million vaccinations," he added. "Since everyone needs two injections, after one month we will have vaccinated 2.25 million Israeli citizens”, Netanyahu added.
On December 19, Netanyahu became the first Israeli to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Starting Monday, the government began its nationwide inoculation programme.