Israel will begin a national coronavirus antibody surveillance of children aged 3-12 years old.
This effort aims to determine how widespread COVID-19 is among children.
This news comes as the Israeli campaign for third COVID-19 booster shot distribution speeds up.
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According to Haaretz, Israel will begin a national anti-body survey for children aged 3-12 on August 22.
The large-scale testing is an effort by the Healthy Ministry and Education Ministry as well as the IDF Home Front Command, to determine how much the coronavirus spread among Israeli children in the past 18 months.
The report stated that 1,400 Home Front Command teams will perform finger-prick blood testing at various locations throughout the country in an effort to test as many Israeli children as possible. Within 15 minutes, test results will be available.
This survey will examine the spread of COVID among young people. Previous testing surveys had been done to learn more about asymptomatic infections in crowds. Current belief is that COVID was infecting many Israeli children over the past months, but they never showed any signs of infection. This led to them being left undiagnosed.
As the Delta variant of the disease continues to ravage parts of the globe, the testing is necessary. Israel is experiencing a surge in cases despite the high vaccination rates and early successes with the Pfizer vaccine.
The government hopes that children who are not yet eligible for vaccination will be found with antibodies. This would make them eligible for a Green Pass which would exempt them form mandatory isolation and testing.
This effort will provide relief for the Israeli education system and healthcare system, allowing children to enjoy greater ease in their daily activities such as going to school and maintaining regular routines.
The Health Ministry's weekend data shows an increase in serious COVID-19 cases by 45 to more than 650. However, the average number of COVID-19 carriers has fallen to 1.2.
This news comes as COVID-19 booster shots are being distributed to Israel's population. Individuals over 40 are now eligible to receive their third dose. The latest data shows that more than 1.3 million people have received the booster.
The move by Israel to offer boosters sparked a wave in wealthy countries. All four countries, including the United States, UK, Germany and France, are either ready or approved to begin rolling out booster shots starting in September.
