{"id":614876,"date":"2026-09-05T02:32:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T02:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/614876\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T02:32:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T02:32:15","slug":"health-funds-launch-flu-vaccination-campaigns-as-supplies-reach-clinics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/614876\/","title":{"rendered":"Health funds launch flu vaccination campaigns as supplies reach clinics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Israel\u2019s health funds are launching their flu vaccination campaigns ahead of the 2026 to 2027 winter season, although this year\u2019s rollout will be gradual. Meuhedet Health Services received its first shipment on Thursday, and vaccinations<\/a> are expected to begin next week.<\/p>\n

The vaccines will arrive in Israel in several shipments, with the health funds expected to expand availability at clinics as additional supplies reach the country throughout September and October.<\/p>\n

Health officials are urging the public, particularly at-risk populations, to get vaccinated as soon as vaccines become available. Last winter, approximately 980,000 Clalit Health Services<\/a> patients received flu vaccines, while the vaccination rate among people aged 65 and older was about 55%.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is to allow the public to get vaccinated as early as possible so that they can protect themselves and their families from the flu and its complications,\u201d said Ronen Nudelman, deputy director-general and head of Clalit\u2019s Community Division.<\/p>\n

Nudelman said every shipment arriving in Israel would be quickly distributed to vaccination centers and clinics.<\/p>\n

Clalit, Israel\u2019s largest health fund, will launch its vaccination campaign next week, as will the other health funds. It has ordered more than one million injectable flu vaccines, along with 25,000 nasal spray vaccines for people ages two to 49.<\/p>\n

Because supplies will arrive gradually, the vaccines will initially be administered at major clinics and designated vaccination centers. The campaign will later be expanded to all Clalit clinics nationwide.<\/p>\n

Meuhedet<\/a> has also ordered approximately 250,000 vaccines, similar to last year. These include a high-dose vaccine for people aged 65 and older, which will be administered to at-risk populations; an inactivated injectable vaccine; and, later, the FluMist nasal spray vaccine for people ages two to 49. Deliveries to clinics will continue gradually until Sukkot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe vaccines are arriving in Israel and at clinics gradually this year, and it is recommended to schedule an appointment in advance to get vaccinated,\u201d said Hagar Wexler, director of Meuhedet\u2019s Nursing Division.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe expect vaccination on a more significant scale to become possible during October,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is important to remember that the flu<\/a> is not a mild illness, and last year we saw significant morbidity and a heavy burden on hospitals. The goal is to enter flu season protected, so once the vaccine is available at the clinic, there is no reason to wait,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Israel\u2019s health funds are launching their flu vaccination campaigns ahead of the 2026 to 2027 winter season, although…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":614877,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[247697,1913,103,260785,61,60,10727],"class_list":["post-614876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-clalit","tag-flu","tag-health","tag-health-funds","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-vaccine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=614876"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614876\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/614877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=614876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=614876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=614876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}