Israel is preparing to give fourth Covid shots amid wave of infections

Israel is preparing to administer fourth doses of the coronavirus vaccines at a time when the country is experiencing a spike in the number of cases of Covid-19 afflicting its population. 

Salman Zarka, Israel's coronavirus czar, said the country needs to prepare for a fourth injection, which he said could be modified to better protect against new variants of the virus, according to The Daily Mail. 

"Given that that the virus is here and will continue to be here, we also need to prepare for a fourth injection," Zarka told Kan public radio. 

"This is our life from now on, in waves."

This spike in the number of cases after such a successful rollout of the vaccine is raising concerns. 

According to a BBC report, the problem might be the more infectious Delta variant, which "seems to have evaded part of the vaccine's protection against infection, although it is still highly effective against severe illness."

The reports says that scientists monitoring the data "believe a major factor in the recent spike in cases is waning immunity from the Pfizer vaccine, which was initially the only one given in the country."

An adviser to the Israeli government on Covid issues said that what is driving the current "wave" is that five or six months after being vaccinated, "people are probably only 30-40% protected, compared with more than 90% when protection first kicks in," according to the outlet.