Israeli study shows fourth Covid-19 vaccine dose boosts antibodies fivefold, Naftali Bennett says

A fourth dose of the Covid-19 vaccine boosts antibodies five-fold a week after the shot is administered, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Tuesday, citing preliminary findings of an Israeli study.

"A week into the fourth dose we know to a higher degree of certainty that the fourth dose is safe," Bennett said at Sheba Medical Center, which is giving second booster shots in a trial among its staff amid a nationwide surge in Omicron variant infections.

"The second piece of news: We know that a week after administration of a fourth dose, we see a five-fold increase in the number of antibodies in the vaccinated person," he told reporters.

"This most likely means a significant increase against infection and ...hospitalisation and (severe) symptoms," Bennett said in English.

Israel on Friday began administering fourth jabs to people with weakened immunity. On Monday, it expanded that to health workers and people over 60, making it one of the first countries to do so.

On Tuesday, the health ministry reported over 10,000 new coronavirus cases for the previous day, compared to a daily average of less than 4,000 the previous week.

More than four million people from Israel's population of 9.4 million have received three shots of the coronavirus vaccine.

The country has officially recorded over 1.4 million cases of Covid-19 infection, including 8,247 deaths.