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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Dave Burke

Israel begins giving Covid vaccines to teenagers as young as 16 in 24/7 rollout

Covid jabs are now being given to teenagers in Israel after the government approved the move.

The country has been operating a 24/7 rollout since the Pfizer-BioNtech jab was approved for use.

And health chiefs have now approved it for students aged between 16 and 18 - as long as their parents approve.

Today pictures from Clalit Health Services in Tel Aviv show youngsters being administered the lifesaving jabs.

Nearly 30 per cent of the population has been given a first dose, the government said.

The country is currently in its third national lockdown, which has been extended until the end of the month.

Have you been vaccinated? Let us know in the comments section

Health chiefs have approved vaccinating teens aged between 16 and 18 (AFP via Getty Images)

Nearly 2.5 million of the country's nine million people have now been vaccinated, health authorities said.

Healthcare firm Clalit said on its website that jabs were being carried out on teenagers this weekend.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced hope this week that a swift vaccination campaign "will afford us the possibility of overcoming the coronavirus, of emerging from it, of opening the economy and getting life back to routine".

A pregnant woman receives a dose of the vaccine at Clalit Health Services in Tel Aviv (AFP via Getty Images)

The estimated Covid-19 reproduction number in Israel has dipped below 1 for the first time since the country launched the world's fastest vaccination drive.

It suggests the pandemic may be starting to recede, the government said on Thursday.

"Are we seeing the light? We see a chink in the blinds," Deputy Health Minister Yoav Kisch told Channel 13 TV after Israel logged an R number of 0.99.

"We have achieved a halt, but we have achieved a halt at high levels of morbidity."

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