Israel starts Covid-19 vaccinations for 5-11 age group

Children aged five to 11 years accounted for half of the cases during the latest wave of infections

Israel on Tuesday began administering the coronavirus vaccines to children aged five to 11 years.

The country recently emerged from a fourth Covid-19 wave, and daily infections have been relatively lower for the past few weeks. However, the health ministry statistics show that a large share of the new infections was among children and teenagers, with children aged five to 11 years accounting for half of the cases.

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Officials are hopeful that the new inoculation campaign will help bring down the numbers and perhaps, stave off another wave.

Israeli media reported low demand for the shots on the first day that they were available for the 5-11 age group. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was expected to accompany his son for his inoculation in a bid to encourage parents to have their children vaccinated.

Israel, which has a population of more than nine million, has had more than 1.3 million infections since the start of the pandemic and more than 8,100 deaths.

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