The first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines for children could arrive in Israel as soon as November 15, Channel 12 News reported on Friday.
According to the report, the Ministry of Health team on pandemic handling will meet on Thursday to discuss the vaccines for children aged 5-11. Both Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz have said they intend to ensure that the discussions are conducted with maximum transparency, similar to the US model.
Channel 12 News noted that only the presentation of the data during the discussion will be open to the public, who can send in their questions by Tuesday. The Ministry of Health will select the relevant questions. In case of multiple applications, a lottery will be held among the applicants. The discussion among the experts, which is the most important part of the process, will remain closed to the public.
The report came just as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for use in children ages 5-11.
Bennett held a meeting earlier this week with those in charge of Israel’s healthcare system, focusing on the issue of vaccinating children ages 5-11 against coronavirus.
That meeting came after the FDA advisory panel approved the vaccine for children, paving the way for Friday’s approval by the FDA itself.
Source: Arutz Sheva