Israel begins vaccinating children under 5 against COVID-19-Xinhua

Israel begins vaccinating children under 5 against COVID-19

Source: Xinhua

Editor: huaxia

2022-08-01 04:10:15

A medical worker prepares a dose of COVID-19 vaccine for a child at a health center in Tel Aviv, Israel, Aug. 2, 2022. A nationwide vaccination campaign against COVID-19 for children aged six months to five years was launched in Israel on Sunday. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)

JERUSALEM, July 31 (Xinhua) -- A nationwide vaccination campaign against COVID-19 for children aged six months to five years was launched in Israel on Sunday.

The vaccination will provide children "with an important protection layer against serious illness and post-COVID symptoms," said a statement issued by the Israeli Ministry of Health on Sunday evening.

The vaccine is especially recommended for children at risk of severe COVID-19 illness due to underlying health conditions that impair the immune system, the ministry noted.

The shots will either be three doses of the Pfizer vaccine or two doses of the Moderna vaccine, said the ministry.

Vaccination for children under the age of five was approved by the ministry's Director General Nachman Ash earlier this month, following a recommendation by a panel of experts.

A 4-year-old child receives COVID-19 vaccine at a health center in Tel Aviv, Israel, Aug. 2, 2022. A nationwide vaccination campaign against COVID-19 for children aged six months to five years was launched in Israel on Sunday. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)