Israel will begin vaccinating against the swine flu in November, the Health Ministry announced this week. The ministry added that 350,000 doses of the vaccine would be arriving in Israel by the end of October. After they undergo inspection by the ministry they will be handed out to hospitals.
The first to be vaccinated against the H1N1 flu will be medical teams in hospitals and patients aged three to 65 who are considered to be at risk for contraction of the disease. These include cancer patients and cardiovascular patients.
In the meantime,the ministry has no plans to vaccinate pregnant women and children under the age of three.
Dan Engelhard, who heads the Health Ministry’s epidemic response team, said the ministry was waiting to receive updates from other countries on the safety and efficiency of the treatment of these groups.
By March Israel is expected to be in possession of around 2.3 million doses of the vaccine, though the state has the option of purchasing up to 8 million if it becomes necessary.
{Yair Alpert-Matzav.com Israel/Ynet}
