Israel recommends third COVID-19 vaccine dose for the immunocompromised

Israel is following a similar path to the U.K. in its plans to administer a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine to a subset of patients. 

U.K. officials recently announced their initiative to provide a booster to high-risk patients, but those plans are preliminary. 

Both Israel and U.K. have concluded that fully vaccinated individuals are unlikely to require a booster dose later this year. 

The Israeli government, however, is taking more definitive steps in issuing guidance for people who are immunocompromised to receive a third dose of the vaccine from Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX). Some medical centers have already begun administering boosters to those who are severely immunocompromised including cancer patients and recipients of organ transplants. While the country is considering providing a third dose for those 60 and older, it hasn’t yet reached a decision on the matter. 

Israel, like many countries, is seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases as a result of the spread of the Delta variant. 

While Pfizer has released data suggesting that a third dose of its vaccine leads to enhanced protection against circulating variants of the novel coronavirus, nations remain divided on the need for boosters. The U.S. has recently pressed Pfizer for more data on the matter after the company filed to extend its emergency use authorization to include booster doses. 

Israel has recently brokered a deal with Pfizer to obtain a new shipment of vaccines on August 1 as its current stockpile is set to expire on July 31.