Israel launches unprecedented clinical trial with fourth dose Pfizer vaccine against Govt-19

TEL AVIV – Israel’s Sheba Hospital began a clinical trial on Monday to test the effectiveness of the fourth dose. BioNTech / Pfizer vaccine against Govit-19. This applies to 6,000 people, including 150 health professionals.

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The world’s first such study, conducted in coordination with the Israeli Ministry of Health, is awaiting the results of the launch of the fourth dose for people over 60 years of age.

– This study will test the effect of the fourth dose of the vaccine on the level of antibodies, prevent infection and check its safety – says Professor Kylie Recke-Yoche, a physician in Sheba, outside Tel Aviv.

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The study should have started 15 days ago with a small group, but was postponed due to lack of necessary permissions.

– This study clarifies the additional benefit of the fourth dose and is believed to lead to an understanding of whether the fourth dose is worth giving to whom – Dr. Lusa told the agency.

Keeping an eye on the fifth wave

After being advised by the Expert Advisory Council to launch a campaign for a fourth dose in Israel, Prime Minister Naphtali Bennett promised to launch an “immediate” plan to control the fifth wave of the epidemic and the spread of the Ômicron variant.

The campaign was announced to begin this Sunday, but was delayed by the Ministry of Health following a review of initial data suggesting the presence of an infection. The Ômicron variation is between 50 and 70% Patients with delta variability are less likely to be hospitalized.

Nachman Ash, the ministry’s director general, has not yet given the “green light” to the start of the fourth vaccination campaign. She still wants to see studies and data from the UK Health Security Agency, according to which the Ômicron variant produces less serious disease, although it spreads faster and is vaccine-resistant.

Nachman Ash is expected to make a decision this weekend and has not ruled out rejecting the expert advisory panel’s recommendation.

According to a recent report by Agency France-Press, Covid-19 has caused more than 5.39 million deaths worldwide since the outbreak.

Respiratory disease is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 corona virus, which was detected in late 2019 in Wuhan, central China, and currently with variants found in several countries.

A new variant, the Ômicron, Classified as a concern by the World Health Organization (WHO), has been detected in South Africa, but since the South African health authorities issued the warning on November 24, infections have been reported in at least 89 countries across all countries. Including Portugal.