Israel began vaccinating children aged five and above this week as experts warn that a fifth wave of the coronavirus in Israel has already begun. “We’re no longer between waves, we’re at the start of a wave,” coronavirus czar Prof. Salman Zarka said on Wednesday evening in an interview with Kan News. Zarka and senior Health Ministry officials report that there has been a rise in the number of COVID infections in the past week and most of the new cases are children who haven’t been vaccinated. The Health Ministry has warned that it may impose new restrictions on gatherings if the number of daily cases continues to increase. On that background, senior health officials gathered at the home of HaGaon HaRav Chaim Kanievsky on Thursday to discuss the campaign for the vaccination of children. Coronavirus czar Zarka presented the data to HaRav Chaim, summarizing the opinions of senior health officials regarding immunization for children and information on the vaccine’s effectiveness and safety in the pediatric population. מרן שר התורה, הגאון רבי חיים קנייבסקי שליט״א בתום מפגש עם בכירי הרופאים ובראשם פרופ בליצר ראש מכון המחקר של כללית: "צריך לחסן את הילדים!". לאמירה של הרב קנייבסקי תהיה משקל מכריע בחיסון הילדים החרדים. pic.twitter.com/ZbIPbUcaoS — מנחם קולדצקי (@nbjovsr88) November 25, 2021 Prof. Ran Balicer, who heads Magen Yisrael, the medical experts’ advisory panel to the Knesset’s coronavirus cabinet, presented the existing data on children vaccinated in the US and research studies carried out in Israel and worldwide on the subject. He concluded by saying that the research shows that the benefits of children being vaccinated far outweigh the risks of the vaccines. After an extended discussion, HaRav Chaim paskened that parents should vaccinate their children aged five and above and gave the pediatric vaccination program a bracha for success. Only minutes after HaRav Chaim’s p’sak was published, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who has made vaccination the center of his battle plan against COVID, quickly shared the post on his social media accounts, writing: “An important call from HaRav Chaim Kanievsky – vaccinate the children.” It’s too bad that Bennett dismisses the many posts and reports issued about HaRav Chaim’s calls against the religous “reforms” being advanced by his government and chooses only to share what fits his agenda. קריאה חשובה של הרב קנייבסקי – חסנו את הילדים. https://t.co/hAPleBUDus — Naftali Bennett בנט (@naftalibennett) November 25, 2021 (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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