Israel's coronavirus infection rate stands at 1.05%, according to Health Ministry data. Of the 103,205 people who tested for the virus Wednesday, 1,021 were found to have the disease.

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There are 15,623 active cases in the country. There are 331 people in serious condition,159 of whom are on ventilators.

Although 1,296,757 Israelis have recovered from the virus, 8,030 have died.

On the vaccination front, 3,875,901 Israelis have received all three authorized doses of the coronavirus vaccine. While 5,705,275 have received two doses, 6,212,587 have received at least one dose.

With health officials reporting they had identified the first case of the highly contagious Delta sub-variant AY.4.2 in the country, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett ordered officials to update the framework for incoming tourism during a consultation meeting held Wednesday. In the consultations, experts presented Bennett with up-to-date information on the new variant, which was discovered thanks to the genetic tasting of virus samples.

The prime minister instructed officials to ramp up the epidemiological study of each new variant as well as act to significantly increase the country's ability to test for different samples and collect more information. Bennett further instructed officials to contact other countries where the variant has been found and share existing Israeli knowledge with those states.

According to a new study on vaccine efficacy among teens, vaccination is effective at preventing infection and illness in over 90% of individuals in this age group and is effective against the Delta variant.

The research study, carried out among 200,000 teenagers with Clalit healthcare insurance and aged 12 to 18, was the largest and most comprehensive study on teen vaccination to date. It was carried out in cooperation with the Clalit healthcare provider and Harvard University. The study's findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

According to the study, the vaccine proved effective at preventing infection among 90% of teenagers and 93% effective at preventing symptomatic illness just one week after receiving the second jab. Since teenagers have rarely been hospitalized with the coronavirus, researchers were unable to assess the vaccine's efficacy at preventing serious illness.

Professor Ran Balicer, who serves as chief innovation officer at Clalit, said: "The study's findings unequivocally indicate that the vaccine is highly effective at bringing down infection with the Delta variant and preventing symptomatic illness one week after receiving two doses. These conclusions provide important and established information to parents who are undecided about the vaccine for their teenage children."

Meanwhile, regulators in the US on Wednesday signed off on extending COVID-19 boosters to Americans who received the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccine and said anyone eligible for an extra dose can get a brand different from the one they received initially.

The Food and Drug Administration's decisions mark a big step toward expanding the US booster campaign, which began with extra doses of the Pfizer vaccine last month. But before more people roll up their sleeves, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will consult an expert panel Thursday before finalizing official recommendations for who should get boosters and when.

The latest moves would expand by tens of millions the number of Americans eligible for boosters and formally allow "mixing and matching" of shots – making it simpler to get another dose, especially for people who had a side effect from one brand but still want the proven protection of vaccination.

Specifically, the FDA authorized a third Moderna shot for seniors and others at high risk from COVID-19 because of their health problems, jobs, or living conditions – six months after their last shot. One big change: Moderna's booster will be half the dose that's used for the first two shots, based on company data showing that was plenty to rev up immunity again.

For J&J's single-shot vaccine, the FDA said all US recipients, no matter their age, could get a second dose at least two months following their initial vaccination.

The FDA rulings differ because the vaccines are made differently, with different dosing schedules – and the J&J vaccine has consistently shown a lower level of effectiveness than either of the two-shot Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.

As for mixing and matching, the FDA said it was OK to use any brand for the booster regardless of which vaccination people got first. The interchangeability of the shots is expected to speed the booster campaign, particularly in nursing homes and other institutional settings where residents have received different shots over time.

FDA officials said they wanted to make the booster guidance as flexible as possible, given that many people don't remember which brand of vaccine they received.

"Being able to interchange these vaccines is a good thing – it's like what we do with flu vaccines," FDA's Dr. Peter Marks told reporters Wednesday evening. "Most people don't know what brand of flu vaccine they received."

Still, he added that many people will decide to get a booster from the same company as their initial vaccination.

The agency's mix-and-match decision was based on preliminary results from a government study of different booster combinations that showed an extra dose of any type revs up levels of virus-fighting antibodies.

Health authorities stress that the priority still is getting first shots to about 65 million eligible Americans who remain unvaccinated. But the booster campaign is meant to shore up protection against the virus amid signs that vaccine effectiveness is waning against mild infections, even though all three brands continue to protect against hospitalization and death.

"Today the currently available data suggest waning immunity in some populations of fully vaccinated people," said FDA's acting commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock. "The availability of these authorized boosters is important for continued protection against COVID-19 disease."

Experts continue to debate the rationale of the booster campaign. Some warn that the US government has failed to clearly articulate the goals of boosters given that the shots continue to head off the worst effects of COVID-19, and wonder if the aim is to tamp down on virus spread by curbing, at least temporarily, milder infections.

FDA regulators said they would move quickly to expand boosters to lower age groups, such as people in their 40s and 50s, if warranted.

"We are watching this very closely and will take action as appropriate to make sure that the maximum protection is provided to the population," said Marks, the FDA's top vaccine official.

In August, the Biden administration announced plans for an across-the-board booster campaign aimed at all US adults, but outside experts have repeatedly argued against such a sweeping effort.

On Thursday an influential panel convened by the CDC is expected to offer more specifics on who should get boosters and when. Their recommendations are subject to approval by the CDC director.

The vast majority of the nearly 190 million Americans who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 have received the Pfizer or Moderna options, while about 15 million have received the J&J vaccine.

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According to Health Ministry data released Thursday, four children are hospitalized in critical condition with the coronavirus, as are six women who are either pregnant or have just given birth. They are all intubated.

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In total, 38 babies under 1 year of age are hospitalized, one of which is in serious condition. There are 48 pregnant women hospitalized, six of whom are in serious condition. In addition, the country's reproduction rate, which according to a report by the military task force on the coronavirus has been on the rise for four straight days, now stands at 0.93.

For the first time, the California variant of the virus has been identified in Israel, with seven new cases found to be of the mutation. Another 444 individuals have been found to be carrying the South African variant.

Israel's infection rate stood at 5.9%, Wednesday, the lowest recorded since Jan. 2. Of the 75,836 people who tested for the coronavirus, Wednesday, 4,298 were found to be infected with COVID-19.

There are currently 40,810 active cases of the virus, 770 of which are serious. Of those in serious condition, 249 are on ventilators. So far, 5,673 people have died from the disease, and 718,782 have recovered.

According to the Health Ministry, 3,209,993 people have received both doses of Pfizer's vaccine, while 4,598,197 have received the first dose.

Also on Wednesday, scores of Israelis vaccinated against COVID-19 attended an open-air concert in Tel Aviv Wednesday, one of the first in a program to restart cultural events by restricting attendance to people who have been vaccinated or those with immunity after contracting the disease.

Attendees were required to show a "Green Pass," a government-validated certificate showing they had received both doses of the vaccine more than a week before the event or that they had recovered from COVID-19 and were presumed immune. The passes are valid for six months from the time of full vaccination.

"It provides protection, but also a feeling of comfort to sit among people who are vaccinated," said Doron Zicher, a retired businessman who was preparing to watch singer Nurit Galron perform at dusk in Yarkon Park.

"After a year staying at home in a sort of isolated environment it feels great to go out and experience public shows and activities," he said.

Israel launched the pass scheme over the weekend as it reopened its economy. Nearly half of Israelis have received the first of two required doses.

Gyms, swimming pools, theaters, and hotels are open to pass-holders only. Once inside, strict caps on occupancy and social distancing requirements are enforced.

Such programs are likely to be scrutinized by other countries looking to reopen for business as their own populations undergo mass vaccination.

Health officials in Israel, which has led the world with its fast roll-out using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, hope the scheme will act as an incentive for vaccine skeptics.

Israeli studies have shown the Pfizer vaccine reduces transmission of the virus.

"If I need to go to a cultural place where they don't ask for the green passport, I wouldn't go," said Michal Porat, 66. "I want to know and to be sure that all the people that are next to me are already immune and vaccinated, and I wouldn't trust people who are not."

In the United States, the Food and Drug Agency confirmed the effectiveness of Johnson & Johnson's single-dose COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, in documents made public two days before a meeting of its advisory committee to examine its urgent authorization in the US.

The vaccine proved 85.9% effective against severe forms of the disease in the United States, 81.7% in South Africa, and 87.6% in Brazil.

In early February, pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson applied for conditional authorization of its COVID-19 vaccine with the American health authorities.

If it gets the green light from the FDA, this vaccine would be the third authorized in the United States, after those of Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna.

The FDA is expected to grant the authorization because it has two significant advantages in terms of logistics. The vaccine can be stored at refrigerator temperatures, which would greatly facilitate its distribution. Also, it only needs to be administered in a single dose.

The likely authorization comes at an important time, with the US having just marked its 500,000th coronavirus victim since the pandemic began almost a year ago.

Meanwhile, researchers at Haifa's Rambam Medical Health Care Campus and Ziv Medical Center in Safed have initiated a Phase 2 clinical trial of a promising new treatment for COVID-19.

These trials are testing TXA27, a compound developed by Boston-based biopharmaceutical company Constant Therapeutics "We are examining the use of a drug based on a naturally occurring peptide called Angiotensin that prevents cell proliferation and inflammation in the lungs," said Professor Karl Skorecki, dean of Bar-Ilan University in the Galilee's Azrieli School of Medicine.

Professor Skorecki estimates that the Israeli trial will be completed within four months. Coronavirus mutations would not affect the effectiveness of treatment, according to Dr. Etty Kruzel-Davila, a senior nephrologist at Rambam Health Care Campus, who is leading the trial.

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