Israel offers COVID-19 vaccine booster to ages 12 and up

IsraelSunday widened access to a third coronavirusvaccinejab to anyone aged12andup, with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett insisting it was an effective way to contain an infection surge.

Moves by several nations to offer third jabs have faced criticism including from the World Health Organization, which insists poorer countries should gain wider access tovaccinesbefore wealthy ones offerboostershots.

But withIsrael, a country of 9.3 million, approaching daily infection tallies that regularly exceed 8,000 and seriousCovidcases, Bennett has pressed ahead with theboosterscheme.

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"The third dose of thevaccineworks," he said in a statement, announcing that it was now "available from age12andup".

He said that with two million Israelis having received a third shot, the results are clear as "the increase in severe morbidity has begun to slow".

Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said there was no doubt that aboostershot was "effective in preventing infection, and it significantly reduces the risk of serious and fatal illnesses".

Israel, which registered 7,000 new cases on Sunday, this week passed the one million cases threshold since the pandemic began.

The latest surge has largely been blamed on the highly transmissible Delta variant.

More than 6,950 people have died from the virus inIsrael.