Israel allows Covid-19 vaccination for kids under 5

Jerusalem, July 7 (IANS) The Israeli Ministry of Health has announced in a statement that it has allowed the administration of Covid-19 vaccines to children and toddlers aged six months to five years.

The announcement came after the ministry's Director General Nachman Ash accepted a recommendation by a panel of experts given last week to allow vaccination at these ages, Xinhua news agency reported.

All the panel members opined that the vaccine has a high safety profile, the ministry noted.

The ministry will update on the availability of vaccines for children under five years old at the health maintenance organizations (HMOs) clinics across the country in the coming weeks, it added.

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.

Israel has lowered the minimum eligibility age for vaccination from 12 to five years in November 2021. Since then, 22.8 per cent of about one million children aged five to 11 in Israel have been vaccinated, according to the ministry's data.