Vaccines against the coronavirus could be effective for two years or more, Israeli biomedical expert Michal Linial told Army Radio, Friday.
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Michal Linial, a professor of molecular biology at Hebrew University who studies the coronavirus, said reports predicting six months of immunity are "wrong and have made a lot of noise for nothing."
"They predicted a decrease in the number of antibodies over time, but in reality, this decrease was only seen in two out of 2,000 people. Today, it seems that there will be no need to vaccinate again in six months or a year, or even in two years," she said.
So far, over 5,256,540 Israelis have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. At least 4,815,283 people have received both doses.
Israel's infection rate currently stands at 1.3%, as 416 of the 33,865 people who tested for the coronavirus were found to be carrying COVID-19.
There are 6,086 active cases, 351 of which are serious. Of those in serious condition, 177 are on ventilators.
Although 821,748 people have recovered from the virus, 6,236 have died.
In an interview with Army Radio on Sunday, coronavirus czar Professor Nachman Ash said Israel was following the data but emphasized: "It's more important to see whether those who were vaccinated are more likely to be infected, and we haven't seen any such signs here. A decrease in the number of antibodies in the blood is to be expected, so I don't see any problem with that," he said.
Asked whether encouraging morbidity data might lead Israel to further roll back coronavirus restrictions ahead of the upcoming Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism and Independence Day, Ash said, "There's no change in our position."
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He said, "We will pass the regulations this week. I think we determined proportionate rules that allow for arrival at cemeteries and the holding of ceremonies. On the other hand, it needs to be protected so that morbidity doesn't spike."
As for whether the education system will fully reopen, with students no longer required to learn in pods, Ash said the ministry was looking into the matter.
"Here, too, our goal is to do things cautiously," he said. Noting the objective was to slowly roll back the need for pods, Ash said this would be done "gradually in some of the classes. It will be done with testing, but again, this will be the trend."
Ash further said he hoped the US Food and Drug Administration would approve the use of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine for adolescents aged 12 to 15 in the coming days following Pfizer's announcement its vaccine was also effective in children between the ages of 12 and 15.
On Friday, Health Ministry Director-General Professor Hezi Levy Israel would begin to import vaccines for this age group as soon as the FDA authorized their use. According to Levy, Israelis aged 12 to 15 could begin to be vaccinated by May.
"There are 2.5 million children and about a million adults who have not yet been vaccinated and this could cause further contamination. We are currently discussing the vaccination of adolescents and we hope it can be done easily and quickly," he said.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
