Israel begins giving COVID shots to children age 5 to 11

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel has begun administering the coronavirus vaccine to children age 5 to 11. The country recently emerged from a fourth COVID wave, and daily infections have been relatively low for the last few weeks. But Health Ministry statistics show that a large share of the new infections have been in children and teenagers. Children age 5 to 11 make up nearly half of active cases. Officials hope the new inoculation campaign will help bring down the numbers and perhaps stave off a new wave. Israeli media reported low demand for the shots on the first day of the campaign Tuesday.