Barring unforeseen events, the government is expected on Wednesday evening to approve COVID vaccinations for children ages five to 11.
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Given threats against Director of Public Health Services at the Health Ministry Dr. Sharon Elroi Preiss and other experts involved in the discussion about vaccinating children, Wednesday's meeting will not be made public. All conclusions and explanations will be announced once the decision has been made.
One of the key figures in Israel's public battle against COVID is Dr. Tal Brosh, director of the Infectious Disease Unit at Samson Assuta Ashdod Hospital, who is also coordinating the Health Ministry team charged with handling the epidemic in Israel.
In a special interview to Israel Hayom, Brosh touches on the importance of vaccinating children, the expected discussion, and the serious threats anti-vaxxers are making against medical experts.
"I think they will recommend vaccinating children," Brosh says. "We've seen that the FDA and the CDC both recommended it. The position of the Health Ministry is in favor of it and so is the position of the Israel Pediatric Association. I think a big majority [of the panel] will be in favor of it."
Q: What can we expect in the discussion itself?
"The problems we'll be discussing include the matter of vaccinating children with positive serological tests [meaning they have tested positive for COVID antibodies but not the virus itself]. The Pfizer study included a certain number of children who had recovered from COVID, and that gives us safety information about children who were vaccinated after recovering from the virus. The [vaccine] is less beneficial to recovered COVID patients."
Q: What can we say to parents who read an article by a doctor who says that COVID isn't a serious disease in children, and the vaccine doesn't prevent post-COVID pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome (PIMS)?
"The article is well-written, but she states as fact things that are extremely inaccurate. It's an incorrect interpretation of the data. It's clear that COVID is much less dangerous in children than in adults, but data from Israel, which are similar to numbers from the US, talk about one in 3,000 children who contract the virus developing PIMS, and a danger of one in 1,000 children who contract COVID being hospitalized in serious condition."
Q: When will the vaccination campaign start?
"I think that the special vaccine doses for children should arrive in Israel any day now The moment the team in charge of handling COVID recommends it, the Health Ministry's regulatory part in approving them will be very quick."
Q: What questions will the team be voting on?
"They haven't been completely formulated, but the main question is whether or not we in the Health Ministry recommend vaccinating children ages five to 11."
Q: Why will the upcoming meeting not be publicly broadcast?
"Mainly, out of concern it will lead to a shallow discussion The moment you're on camera, there are people who won't want to take part."
Q: Dr. Elroi Preiss said that vaccines for children will not be mandated. Do the experts have a mandate to make recommendations about the Green Pass vaccination certificate, free testing, etc.?
"The Green Pass issue is the Health Ministry's to execute. If the government thinks it's right to vaccinate, it needs to do everything it can to persuade the people."
Q: What percentage of children do you expect will get vaccinated?
"I think there will be a run on the vaccine from a lot of parents who've been waiting for it, but that will pass quickly, and I don't think we'll reach 50%. The vaccine for children won't wipe out the pandemic in Israel, and at the end, there will be repeated waves and everyone will be exposed to the virus sooner or later."
Q: Can we expect a booster shot for children, too?
"We still don't have the answer. About the kids, we'll track their antibody numbers."
Q: You've been threatened by anti-vaxxers. Are you afraid?
"The issue of threats and the personal risk to members of the team handling COVID is a very serious one. We aren't elected officials or government functionaries. I pity Dr. Sharon Elroi Preiss, who is receiving threats, which is horrifying. Personally, I've gotten threats and since then haven't been checking social media.
"Very occasionally, I look at comments, and it's shocking. They write that I'm a 'criminal,' 'getting money from Pfizer,' a 'murderer of children.' I don't feel like my life is in anger, but I'm worried that a person could get up and decide to take action, and target even me with violence," Brosh says.
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