JERUSALEM, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Israel will soon start vaccinations against new Omicron substrains of COVID-19, the Health Ministry announced on Thursday in a statement.
The ministry recommended that the entire population be vaccinated against the new subvariants, especially patients suffering from immunosuppression.
The ministry noted that Israel sees a moderate increase in the number of hospitalized patients, most are mild cases.
Meanwhile, there is also a small increase in the number of patients in serious condition and a marginal rise in mortality.
The new round of vaccinations will first start with people aged 12 and over and children who are at risk.
Other populations will be eligible to be vaccinated in the second stage after the country receives an additional stock of vaccines, the statement noted.
According to the ministry's latest update earlier this week, Israel has 1,167 reported active COVID-19 patients, 53 of whom are in serious condition.
Since the outbreak of the pandemic in Israel in 2020, 12,670 people have died from the virus in the country.
