In Israel, the health ministry has said there have been fewer than 10 cases of heart inflammation among a cohort of 1.5 million people who received a booster dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine.
Israel, which has one fo the most comprehensive and aggressive vaccine programmes in the world, began administering the third doses to at-risk individuals in July. By the end of August, it extended the programme to all Israelis over 12 who had gone more than five months since their last dose.
In data published late on Thursday, the health ministry reported nine cases of myocarditis within four age groups that comprised more than 1.5 million people who had received a booster dose, according to Reuters.
All were male, three were between the ages of 16 and 29 and six were in the 30-59 group. Eight more possible cases were still being reviewed. Most myocarditis cases are generally mild, the ministry said.
In total, out of all 3.2 million Israelis who have received a third dose, 25 reported serious adverse events that appeared within 30 days, including myocarditis, though a causal link had yet to be established among many of them.
Since the so-called Delta variant of coronavirus began spreading in Israel in June, the government has reimposed indoor mask wearing and Israelis “green passes” – digital documents that confirm full immunisation, including a third shot, or recovery from Covid – to enter most places of leisure. Teachers must either be vaccinated or get tested in order to enter schools.
The number of COVID-19 patients hospitalised in serious condition has been dropping in recent days, as has the number of confirmed daily cases, which now stand at around 4,000, compared with around 8,000 a month ago.
