Throughout the pandemic, the Coronavirus Pandemic Response Team has been advising the Israeli Health Ministry where its policies are concerned. Now, they are going to conduct a public session regarding the vaccination of kids between the ages of 5 and 11, just a day after an inoculation campaign of the said age group began in the United States. The people in Israel will be able to view the debate over a number of channels in the country, along with various social media accounts of the Health Ministry, including their YouTube channel, Twitter account and Facebook page.
In the past couple of days, the authorities had given an invitation to all those who want to speak during this public session to send in an application for asking any questions they may have. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 3 and Dr. Boaz Lev, the Chairman will begin it with some remarks. Next, a presentation will be given regarding the efficacy of the coronavirus vaccine and some of its other medical aspects will also be highlighted. There will be a 10-minute break and then some experts in pediatric infectious diseases, as well as representatives of the Pediatric Association, will share their own perspectives with the public.
The third part of the session will involve the members of the public. 20 of them will be given three minutes each to share their questions and concerns. The ministry had decided to select these members of the public in order to hear the public’s opinions, including that of people who are against the vaccination of kids. They will use alphabetical order to call the speakers and no verbal abuse will be accepted. The United States launched its inoculation campaign for children between the ages of 5 and 11 on Wednesday in the country.
While 15 million shots will be distributed, only a limited number of them were available on Wednesday. The shots will become widely available later at children’s hospitals, pediatrician’s offices and pharmacies in the next week. It should be noted that a decision will not be made by the Pandemic Response Team in the public session on Thursday. It is widely expected that the vaccination will receive the green light in Israel and when it does, they would still have to wait because the shipment of the vaccine will arrive in the country in about mid-November.
The dose of the Pfizer vaccine for kids is a bit different from the one given to adults. It is stored in different vials and it is also 10 mg, as opposed to the 30 mg given to adults. Israel is preparing to launch its vaccination campaign, as the country seems to be stepping out of the fourth wave. There were 7,388 active cases in the country on Wednesday. There were more than 80,000 in September when the wave hit its peak. The number of serious cases in the country has fallen to 201, as opposed to 740 cases back in September. Most of the new virus carriers are children between the ages of 0 and 11.