With the number of Israelis turning up to receive the coronavirus vaccine dropping, the Health Ministry said Wednesday it is opening up the national vaccination drive to anyone over the age of 16.
The ministry instructed the country's health funds to make the necessary preparations for the expansion from Thursday, but said efforts must continue to reach more people over the age of 50 who have yet to be inoculated.
Health Ministry Director-General Hezi Levi told Ynet on Wednesday that the decision was triggered by the declining turnout for vaccines, which has left vaccination centers across the country standing almost empty.
Israel leads the world in the percentage of the population who have been vaccinated, with a massive push to administer the inoculations to the entire country by March.
So far, more than 3.2 million of the 9 million Israeli citizens have received the first dose of the two-stage vaccinations, while almost 2 million of that number have also received the second dose.
But ministry officials said Wednesday that there was only a small rise last week in the total number of over-60s - who are considered high risk from COVID-19 - who have received a vaccine.
The officials also highlighted a 250% rise in seriously ill COVID-19 cases in people under 40 in the past month, which they attributed to the spread of a British mutation of the virus.
The country last week also began vaccinating 11th and 12th graders so that they could take their matriculation exams without fear of being infected.
Israel's daily coronavirus cases also remain high, with 7,919 new cases on Tuesday, indicating a 9.3% positivity rate. There are currently 1,074 people hospitalized in serious condition including 292 patients on ventilators.
The death toll has also continued to climb, with 31 fatalities on Tuesday bringing the total number of people who have succumbed to the virus to 4,888.
According to a poll aired by the Kan public broadcaster, 31% of Israelis were unsure about whether to get the vaccine and 36% worried about its safety.
Uncertainty about vaccine effectiveness against some coronavirus strains has stirred speculation that Israel could rescind the exemption from quarantine now accorded to vaccinees.
"I think that, naturally, the more we go down from ages at which the risk is higher, more effort has to be made to bring the population out to get vaccinated," coronavirus czar Prof. Nachman Ash said Wednesday.
He said several hundred vaccine doses had had to be thrown away after they expired, unused, due to no-shows at clinics.
Deputy Health Minister Yoav Kisch told 103 FM radio station that children aged between 12 and 16 may be vaccinated starting in April, pending regulatory approval, but that including the under 12s "will take at least another year."
The government was due to convene Wednesday to decide on how and when to ease the restrictions of the country's third lockdown.
The Health Ministry has advocated for restrictions to remain in place until late Sunday at least, while Defense Minister Benny Gantz wanted to see some measures lifted as early as Friday morning.
Reuters contributed to this report