The Priority Committee decided: Corona vaccines will be given to ages 18-16

The Priority Committee decided tonight (Thursday) to recommend extending the administration of corona vaccines to ages 18-16. The committee discussed the various options for continuing the operation, knowing that Pfizer's next shipment of vaccines, scheduled to arrive in early February, is expected to be significantly smaller. The intention is to allow only 11th-12th grade students to be vaccinated, so as not to impair the completion of the matriculation exams.
During the prioritization discussion, we explored the possibilities of removing the prioritization rule, or adding more publics to it. During the discussion, each HMO presents its data and whether it manages to vaccinate all the populations that have gone into prioritization so far. The discussion in the committee is over, and now the decision is awaiting the approval of the director general of the Ministry of Health, Hezi Levy.
Against the background of the recommendation, the HMOs were informed that the delivery of Pfizer, which was scheduled to arrive in early February, would be smaller than expected. According to the shipments, hundreds of thousands of vaccines should arrive this coming Sunday, and there may be one weak week in terms of progress in the vaccination campaign, in the first week of February.
The competition for progress in the vaccination campaign between the HMOs is tough - so far Maccabi is winning, but the HMO is not strong in the Arab and ultra-Orthodox sector, where there has been less response so far.
Defense Minister Bnei Gantz welcomed the recommendation of the priority committee, saying that "in accordance with the blue-and-white demand, at the cabinet meeting, the priority committee decided to vaccinate 16-18 year olds." He clarified that "we will continue to stand firm on what is right from within the government and political considerations cannot be set priorities in the war in Corona. Education must be a priority, after making sure teachers are vaccinated we must ensure that youth can hold matriculation and return to frameworks soon."