![The rate of COVID-19 spread among vaccinated people age 60 and over began falling steadily on August 13 [File: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2021-08-24T050036Z_1112456163_RC2HBP9MM0W8_RTRMADP_3_HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS-ISRAEL-BOOSTERS.jpg?resize=770%2C513)
JERUSALEM, Aug 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Israel lowered the age threshold to receive a third coronavirus booster dose to anyone aged 30 and above, as it continues to battle surging infections.
Israel is among a handful of nations that have decided to administer a third vaccine dose, a policy criticised by the World Health Organization, which has called for more doses to be sent to poorer states.
But Israel’s health ministry announced the lowered age threshold after 9,831 new cases were registered on Monday, the highest daily tally since January.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has argued that given Israel’s relatively small population its booster shot programme would not affect global stocks but would provide quick data on the effectiveness of a third dose, aiding the global pandemic fight.
On Tuesday, he described Israel as the “global pioneers regarding the third dose of the vaccine”.
More than 5.4 million Israelis have received two shots of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, 58 per cent of the population, and more than 1.5 million people have had three shots.
Israel was one of the first countries to launch a large-scale vaccination drive which began in December and succeeded in lowering infections, but cases have spiked largely because of the highly transmissible Delta variant.
Bennett has said he is committed to avoiding another economically crippling lockdown, and believes the latest surge can be managed by expanding vaccinations and promoting mask-wearing.
Delta hit Israel in June, just as the country began to reap the benefits of one of the world’s fastest vaccine roll-outs.
With an open economy and most curbs scrapped, Israel went from single-digit daily infections and zero deaths to around 7,500 daily cases last week, 600 people hospitalised in serious condition and more than 150 people dying in that week alone.
On July 30, it began administering a third dose of the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine to people over 60, the first country to do so. — NNN-AGENCIES
