Health Minister Yuli Edelstein halted the delivery of COVID-19 vaccinations to Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv on Monday following reports the medical center vaccinated people who requested it even if they were not within the appropriate age group.As a result, the vaccination center in Rabin Square, set up by the Tel Aviv Municipality and Sourasky Medical Center will stop administering vaccinations, Ynet News reported Tuesday morning.
“This is a national resource and so it should be treated,” he said.
The Minister calls on all warehousing bodies to vaccinate solely in accordance with the guidelines of professionals in the Health Ministry. "
Currently, COVID-19 vaccines are reserved for at-risk groups such as the elderly, medical teams, and those who are 60-years-old or older.However, many Israelis showed up at medical centers asking to be given the vaccination anyway. Adding confusion, some centers were instructed to offer vaccinations to anyone coming near the end of the work day as unused shots would have to be thrown out anyway.
Israel is currently facing an expected shortage of shots, which casts doubts about how the nation-wide operation will continue. Some experts suggested to allow patients to wait for more then three weeks between shots to ensure more people could get the first shot in the process.