A clinical trial begins in Israel with the fourth dose of the vaccine against COVID-19

The Israeli Sheba Hospital, located outside Tel Aviv, begins today a clinical trial to test the efficacy of the fourth dose of Pfizer’s vaccine against COVID-19, with 6,000 people, including 150 members of the medical staff.

The study, the first of its kind in the world, is carried out in coordination with the Ministry of Health, which awaits its results to begin applying the fourth dose, as recommended last week by the committee of experts that advises the government on the response to the pandemic.

“This study will test the effect of the fourth dose of vaccine on the level of antibodies, on the and verify your security “, said Professor Gili Regev-Yochay, doctor of the Sheba.

The study was scheduled to begin two weeks ago, with a smaller group, but was delayed because it had not received the necessary approvals.

“This study is expected to shed light on the additional benefit of giving a fourth dose and and whom”added the doctor.

After the committee of experts advised to start the campaign for the fourth dose in Israel, Prime Minister Naftali Benet promised to start the plan “immediately” to contain the fifth wave of the pandemic and the spread of the omicron.

It was announced that the campaign would start on Sunday, but the Health Ministry delayed it after reviewing preliminary data suggesting that people with the Omicron variant have than those of the Delta.

It is not ruled out that it is dismissed

The ministry’s director general, Nachman Ash, has yet to give the green light to the start of the fourth dose campaign as he examines studies and data available to date, such as those from the UK Health Security Agency, showing that Ómicron it produces milder disease, although it spreads faster and evades vaccines better.

Ash is expected to make a decision on the matter this week and from experts, despite initial euphoria from several members of the government when they issued their advice last Tuesday.

The positivity rate in Israel has already reached 2.16% and the reproduction rate 1.4%, which shows a new peak in the pandemic, although of the 12,041 active cases of COVID-19 in Israel, only 145 are hospitalized, 91 in serious condition and 39 with ventilators.

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