Israel was poised to restart an internationally recommended campaign to vaccinate its population against coronavirus on Sunday, with the delivery of new shipments from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.
An El Al flight from Belgium was to take off at Ben-Gurion Airport at 4pm carrying 700,000 doses of the vaccine, which Pfizer says is up to 95% effective against COVID-19.
Medical professionals receive second dose of coronavirus vaccine at Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv
(Photo: yariv katz)
Health maintenance groups across the country have already begun vaccinating those who have already received first impressions in the two-stage process, just three weeks after Israel launched its vaccination campaign. soft on December 20th.
More than 1.8 million members of the Israeli population have already received the first injection of the vaccine, but the third wave of the deadly pandemic has led to thousands of daily cases of the disease and 300 deaths since January 1st.
The country is currently in its third tight lockdown aimed at stopping the spread of the virus.
According to the Our World in Data website, run by Oxford University, Israel had vaccinated 19.55% of its population 9.29 million by January 7, making it a global leader in per capita coronavirus inoculations.
The Ministry of Health last week expressed concern about a lack of vaccines that could slow down the campaign, saying doses would be given first to those who had already received their first injection.
A proposal for the vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer was combined with criticism from both companies and Israeli health experts, who warned that there was no evidence that this would be as effective.
The first batches of the Moderna vaccine arrive in Israel
(Photo: Ben-Gurion Airport)
On Thursday, the first limited batch of the Moderna vaccine arrived in Israel from Germany, with doses to give a full vaccine to just 50,000 people.
The vaccine has been indicated for members of at-risk groups who are confined to their homes, as it is easier to transport than the Pfizer vaccine, which must be stored in special containers at -70 ° C .
Moderna chief medical officer Tal Zaks told Ynet on Wednesday that he is “very proud as an Israeli that Israel is one of the first countries in the world to apply to buy the vaccine early, both us and Pfizer , and is at the forefront today in terms of the vaccination capacity of its citizens. “
Under the terms of an agreement reached by the government and Pfizer, more than 10 million doses of the vaccine were expected to reach Israel by the end of March.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will receive the second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Saturday
(Photo: Miriam Elster)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the first Israeli man to receive the Pfizer vaccine at a televised event aimed at reassuring the public about his safety, said last week that his all members of the public over the age of 16 receive the vaccine within three months, making Israel the first country to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic.
“The agreement I reached with Pfizer allows us to give the vaccine to everyone in Israel over 16 years before the end of March – and even before that, perhaps,” Netanyahu said in a speech live on January 7th.
“We will cover the whole population and get anyone who wants to be vaccinated,” he said.