(i24) Vaccines now available to high school students aged 16-18 with parental approval
Israel began administering coronavirus vaccines to teenagers Saturday as it pushed ahead with its inoculation drive, health officials said.
On Thursday, Israel’s Health Ministry announced that it approved inoculation of high school students, aged 16-18, whose parents okayed the jab.
The country’s largest health fund, Clalit, was already giving teens shots as of Saturday morning, its website said, while the three smaller funds were due to kick off their campaign later.
Also from Saturday, people aged 40 and up are also allowed to get the vaccine in another expansion of the minimal age for booking an appointment.
Since the rollout of vaccinations one month ago, almost 2.5 million of Israel’s nine-million-strong population have received at least one jab, according to the data released Friday.
The country secured a huge stock of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and has pledged to share the impact data quickly with the US-German manufacturer.
With pandemic figures still relatively high, Israel also extended its third national coronavirus lockdown on Tuesday, its end now slated for January 31.