Irish Examiner view: Follow the Israel model and provide boosters for all adults

We should be rolling out far more quickly and far more extensively than we are, in order to keep our population protected.

Experts who have been tracking the effectiveness of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine have found that the risk of Covid infection increases the longer it is since people had a second dose. Picture: Kirsty O'Connor/PA

Ireland and other EU countries need to consider a Covid-19 vaccine booster dose for all adults, aged 18 years and older, with a priority for people over 40, according to Andrea Ammon, head of the European Centre for Disease Control.

That is sound advice, given the success of Israel’s booster vaccine programme. While large parts of Europe are experiencing massive Covid-19 outbreaks, forcing governments to announce new lockdowns and restrictions, in Israel the virus seems mostly under control, and life is almost back to normal. The reason: Israel’s successful booster-shot campaign.