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The recommendation by an Israeli panel to administer a fourth vaccine to those who are over 60 is being met with a tepid response by some of the country's medical experts, who believe more data is needed.
"I supported the booster recommendation in July. But that time we had better evidence. Today, we don't have any good evidence," said Dr. Dror Mevorach, head of the coronavirus department at Hadassah University Hospital Ein Kare in Jerusalem.
"I think there is a great question about the impact of this fourth booster. I'm not sure it will help."
Mevorach told CBC News that unlike the decision to implement the third dose, which was met with wide approval, this recommendation is being questioned by some in the medical community.
"I would say that I got dozens of calls from both medical doctors and scientists saying to me that we think the same, that there's no evidence to give [a fourth dose} for the moment," he said.
"But I must say that medical or scientific evidence is not there," he said.
It may be better to wait for an Omicron specific booster, which both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna have indicated could be ready by March, he said.
Prof. Hagai Levine, an epidemiologist and chair of the Israel Association of Public Health Physicians, told the New York Times that while he respects the "better safe than sorry" opinion of the panel, "before giving a fourth shot, it is preferable to wait for the science."
