Health officials and workers surrounded by Russian Sputnik V vaccine provided by Moscow and the UAE.
The inclusion campaign against COVID-19 in the Gaza Strip under siege has begun after vaccinations were given by Russia and the United Arab Emirates.
On Monday, health officials and workers received the first photos of 22,000 Russian Sputnik V jobs in front of dozens of cameras.
Medhat Mahisen, a health ministry representative, said healthcare workers dealing with COVID-19 patients are the first targets for vaccine distribution.
He urged residents to register online to receive the vaccine, according to a statement on the Ministry of Health website.
“I am proud that the health sector has been able to overcome this difficult time, with few resources but great commitment,” said Riyad Zanoun, a former Gaza health minister, after receiving the first dose. .
Two other deputy health ministers, Jawad al-Tibi and Bassem Naeem, were also included in the coastal region controlled by the Palestinian group Hamas.
Gaza health authorities have reported nearly 54,400 cases and 543 deaths, including 128 new infections in the past 24 hours.
وزارة الصحة تطلق الحملة الوطنية للتطعيم ضد فيروس كوفيد 19 https://t.co/LiTpq8Tgu6
– وزارة الصحة – فلسطين (@MOH_PR) February 22, 2021
Translation: The Ministry of Health is launching the national vaccination campaign against the COVID-19 virus.
Gaza has been under Israeli-Egyptian blockade since Hamas took control of the region in 2007 from its rival, Fatah.
The number of vaccines received as a fraction of what is needed to vaccinate the Strip, home to two million people including about 1.4 million adults.
The West Bank is also struggling with vaccine shortages. The Palestinian Authority (PA) launched a vaccination campaign on February 2 after receiving 2,000 doses from Israel, as well as 10,000 doses from Russia – 2,000 were transferred last week to Gaza following the Israeli agreement.
The PA plans to cover 20 percent of Palestinians through the COVAX vaccine distribution program. However, the international platform has not yet started rolling out vaccines and has so far struggled to get doses.
The limited distribution of Palestinian vaccines is quite different from Israel, which is on track to vaccinate almost all adults in the coming weeks with both doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Palestinian citizens of Israel are among those who received the vaccine.
Israel has become a real-world test lab since signing an agreement with Pfizer, promising to share a lot of medical data with the international drug giant in exchange for it. the continuous flow of his vaccine.
UN officials and human rights groups have expressed concerns about the inequality in vaccine circulation and said that Israel, as a resident power, has a duty to help the Palestinians.
Israel says the PA is responsible for interim peace treaties.
In a report released Monday, the World Bank urged Israel to consider giving Palestinians extra doses to help accelerate the spread of vaccines in the West Bank and Gaza.
The report said Palestinian COVID-19 vaccine plan lacks $ 30m funding, even after receiving support from a global vaccination scheme for poor economies.