The Israeli Health Ministry is recommending approval of the COVID-19 vaccine for infants and young children ages six months to five years old.
The decision was reached Thursday in a unanimous vote by the ministry’s advisory panel on infectious diseases.
Health Ministry Director-General Nachman Ash must still approve the decision before injections can be administered to the babies.
There were some differences in how panel members felt about the specifics of the inoculation campaign, however.
Just 13 percent of the panel voted to recommend vaccinating all children; another 13 percent voted to simply allow the vaccine for babies ages six months and up; 16 percent suggested restricting the vaccine to high-risk youngsters; 58 percent voted to recommend the vaccine for the high-risk group and allow the shots for children who are not at risk.
As regards children who have already tested positive for the virus, 87 percent of the panel said there should be no difference in the recommendations for the vaccine; just 13 percent of the panel felt that children who already had the virus should not receive the shot.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna) earlier this month for children ages five years and younger.
The Pfizer dose for children is one-tenth of the adult dose. Three shots are needed, with the first two administered two weeks apart and the third a minimum of two months later.
