One in five Israelis received the first dose of coronavirus vaccines, about 10 times higher than the rate in the UK and US, with the country aiming to include all eligible age groups within two months.
Israel’s fast-paced vaccination campaign was expected to slow down this week as the first batch of Pfizer / BioNTech doses ran low.
However, on Saturday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had received a commitment from the pharmaceutical company to boost delivery as a result of Israel providing “statistical data” – in fact making the country a a major test case to see how vaccines could stop the pandemic.
“We are the first country in the world to come out of the coronavirus,” Netanyahu said.
“My agreement with Pfizer will allow us to vaccinate all Israeli citizens over 16 years before the end of March and possibly even earlier,” he said. the second dose of the vaccine, Netanyahu said the country could do it within two months.
“As part of the agreement with Pfizer, we decided that Israel will become a global model state for whole-country rapid vaccination,” he said, adding that Israel will share data with the world that will help. -development strategies to defeat the corona-virus “. Pfizer did not independently confirm the agreement.
More than 1.8 million Israelis – about 20% of the 9 million population – have received their first injection, with initial doses aimed at people over 60, health care workers, carers and high – risk people. With more loads arriving on Sunday, teachers and younger age groups are expected to have a chance in the coming days.
As well as being a small country in terms of size and population, Israel’s vaccine success has been attributed to its digital healthcare system and strong public awareness campaign. An election set for March 23 has also strongly encouraged Netanyahu to get the country back to some normal level.
But while they are going ahead with vaccines, Israel is currently locked in because it is suffering a dangerous rise in diseases. The health ministry reports around 8,000 new cases a day, with the highest numbers in a state of emergency.
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The country is also opposed to criticism for not offering vaccines to millions of Palestinians living under its occupation. Last week, Amnesty International described the difference as “a picture of how Israeli life is valued above Palestinian life”.
Israel says it is responsible for the Palestinian Authority based on the West Bank, which has limited autonomy and seeks vaccines independently, and the militant group Hamas, which rules there. in Gaza, for their numbers.