Israel to Start Covid Booster Shots on Sunday; Pfizer Ups 2021 Revenue Expectation From $26B to $33.5B

Health Ministry Director-General Nachman Ash on Thursday told health management organizations to start giving a third COVID-19 vaccine shot to elderly Israelis from the beginning of next week.

Ash told the HMOs the shots should be given to those aged 60 and older.

His order came hours after Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with top health officials to review an expert panel's recommendations that older Israelis receive a third shot.

Israel is among the first in the world to offer a third dose of a coronavirus vaccine — Hungary has also said it would begin rolling out booster shots beginning Sunday, joining Turkey, which adopted the measure earlier this month. The American Food and Drug Administration has yet to approve third doses.

Foot-in-the-door (FITD) technique is a compliance tactic that aims at getting a person to agree to a large request by having them agree to a modest request first.

This technique works by creating a connection between the person asking for a request and the person that is being asked. If a smaller request is granted, then the person who is agreeing feels like they are obligated to keep agreeing to larger requests to stay consistent with the original decision of agreeing. This technique is used in many ways and is a well-researched tactic for getting people to comply with requests. The saying is a reference to a door to door salesman who keeps the door from shutting with his foot, giving the customer no choice but to listen to the sales pitch.

And now, it is starting to appear that two shots of the Pfizer vaccine – at least if they were taken more than six months ago, or you are old or immunocompromised – also might not be quite enough to stop the disease.

"We had a very good vaccine, and now we have a mediocre vaccine," [Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Campus Director-General Dr. Eitan Wertheim] said. "We don't have enough protection, and we are not taking severe measures to prevent the spread."

[...]Pfizer and Moderna are currently working on new versions of their vaccines that would better combat coronavirus variants, which are supposed to be out by the end of the year. It is unclear if those who get a shot now could take a booster again then.

Moreover, despite research showing that the neutralizing antibodies in people who got the jab five or six months ago are starting to wane, it is unclear because no research yet exists as to whether it is the lack of these particular antibodies, or also how resistant the Delta variant is to the current vaccine, that is leading to so many breakthrough infections. Therefore, there is always a possibility that a third shot might not fully protect those at risk anyway.

"We will have to produce another vaccine that will cover the newer variants, and then we will have to be much quicker at using it," Wertheim said. "If the vaccine is not delivered at almost the same time to all the countries – if there is no global rollout strategy – then there will also be one or two big countries where a new variant develops. It will start by infecting those nations, but it will eventually spread to other nations, even those who think they are already in good condition."

He said: "We might be happy again in January or February," but without global vaccination, Israel could expect to be struggling again by Passover.

He described a situation in which Israel, which had prided itself on helping lead the world out of the pandemic, might now be perpetually in a situation akin to a dog chasing its tail, always trying to get ahead of the next variant but finding itself on the losing end until a global solution is found.

"If every country will do only a local strategy," Wertheim concluded, "it is only going to keep us a little bit protected but not completely cured."

Pfizer's COVID vaccine generated $7.8 billion in second-quarter revenue https://t.co/6b1yu0vKkJ

— MarketWatch (@MarketWatch) July 28, 2021

"Pfizer said it expected its data for the trials in children aged two to 11 to be handed down by September.
For children aged 6 months to two years, it will be later in the year."

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All logic about cost v benefit has gone. https://t.co/cVxcO0yCf6

— Bev Turner 🌸 (@beverleyturner) July 29, 2021

Pfizer expects revenue from the COVID-19 vaccine will reach $33.5 billion this year — a 29% jump from the previously estimated $26 billion. https://t.co/K6WyUYpRrk

— Axios (@axios) July 28, 2021