Israel's coronavirus czar is calling for preparations for a 4th vaccine dose

• Israel's coronavirus czar suggested that people may need a fourth shot of COVID-19 vaccine.
• He said the country needs to "prepare" for that, but didn't give a timeline.
• Israel is currently giving most people third vaccine doses as a booster.

Israel's coronavirus czar has called for the country to prepare to roll out a fourth coronavirus vaccine dose.

Salman Zarka told Israel's Kan public radio on Saturday that "given that that the virus is here and will continue to be here, we also need to prepare for a fourth injection," The Times of Israel reported.

Zarka did not outline a timeline for when those vaccines could be given.

Israel is already rolling out a vaccine booster shot to most people, which would be their third dose.

The country's health minister last week granted access to a third shot to everyone over the age of 12 who had received their second shot at least five months earlier.

Zarka said on Saturday that the booster could be modified to better target variants of the virus.

He told The Times of Israel in August that people could need to get a shot "every few months - it could be once a year or five or six months."