The Israeli Ministry of Health estimated the effect of a fourfold vaccination against COVID-19

A fourth covid-19 shot could double the body's defense against infection and triple the protection against severe illness in the age group 60 years and older. Such conclusions, according to the Times of Israel, were made by the Israeli Ministry of HEALTH, based on the analyzed data on those who underwent the second revaccination.

The analyzed information was collected on 400,000 Israelis who received their fourth injection of the vaccine, and on 600,000 who received three injections.

At the same time, studies conducted earlier in Israel showed that even four injections of the vaccine are not able to reliably protect against infection with the Omicron strain. Israel's Chaim Sheba Medical Center launched a study on the effectiveness of the fourth covid vaccine in December, with preliminary data released last week. “A vaccine that was very effective against the previous strains is less effective against the Omicron strain. We see an increase in the number of antibodies, higher than after the third dose, however, there are many infected with "omicron" who received the fourth dose. A little less than in the control group, but there are still a lot of infections, ”stated the HEAD of the study, Professor Gili Regev-Yochai.

Against the backdrop of the emergence of these data, the Israeli government plans to move to the abolition of the "green pass" system that previously operated in the country. She implied that only those who had a vaccination certificate or a negative PCR test passed no later than 72 hours ago had access to public places. However, the spread of the Omicron strain among the vaccinated makes these rules obsolete: the vaccination certificate is no longer a guarantee of protection, and therefore the system may be canceled.

The Times of Israel does not specify which vaccine is being vaccinated. The vaccine from Pfizer has received the greatest distribution in Israel, it is it that is used to vaccinate citizens over 60 years old.