The Health Ministry on Tuesday announced that Israelis age 30 and over are now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster, expanding the program days after lowering the minimum age to 40.
Last month, Israel became the first country in the world to begin offering booster shots to those age of 60 and up, and has been gradually lowering the age limit since. On Friday, it began offering the shot to the 40-49 age group.
According to Health Ministry data on Tuesday, 1,575,898 Israelis have received a third dose of the vaccine so far.
“We made sure we have enough vaccines for everyone. The vaccination campaign works efficiently and quickly. Go get vaccinated,” Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz tweeted on Tuesday.
Only those who received the second vaccine dose at least five months earlier are eligible for the shot.
According to the Israeli Ministry of Health, the third dose of Pfizer (PFE.N)'s COVID-19 vaccine has significantly improved protection from infection and serious illness among people aged 60 and older in Israel compared with those who received two shots.
Fighting an outbreak of the Delta variant since June, Israel, however, has one of the world's highest infection rates per capita.