Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla has canceled a planned trip to Israel because it emerged he had not been vaccinated against COVID because he did not ‘want to jump the line’ – in a blow to him his friend ‘Benjamin Netanyahu’ as he fights for a resurgence.
Bourla, 59, and some of his staff have received the first dose but have not yet received the second dose, but others in their team have received both doses but have not completed the seven-day wait. mandatory thereafter to develop an immune response.
Pfizer announced on Thursday that the trip had been canceled, following reports that Bourla had not received the vaccine in full. It is unclear whether the decision followed pressure from Israeli officials. Dailymail.com has registered Pfizer for comments.
Pfizer told Channel 12 News, which broke the story: ‘We remain interested in visiting Israel and meeting with decision-makers, health officials and professionals involved in a vaccination campaign successful in Israel. ‘
Albert Bourla and some of his staff have received the first dose but have yet to receive the second dose.
Bourla voted in December not to jump the line to get the vaccine, despite being the head of the company that made the drug in partnership with the German company BioNTech.
He was due to arrive on Israel on March 8, just 15 days before the election on March 23, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be seen against Yair Lapid, the leader of Yesh Atid’s centralist party.
Netanyahu has revisited his personal relationship with Bourla again as a reason Israel has received 10 doses of Pfizer vaccine as part of the best vaccination program in the world.
Bourla’s decision to postpone the trip comes as a blow to Netanyahu as he tries to trumpet the jab program as a reason for re-electing his Likud party.
The Israeli Ministry of Health said Thursday that 4,896,113 citizens had received the first dose of vaccine, and 3,642,338 have also received a second.
There has been speculation before that Bourla had postponed his visit so as not to show influence over the election.
Pfizer said the tour could go ahead in late spring, ‘when COVID restrictions are lifted or improved, and to allow for better visiting conditions,’ the Israeli Times reported.
The trip was set to coincide with the completion of the delivery of 10m vaccine doses and could also include talks about Pfizer building a factory in Israel.
Netanyahu’s opponents had branded the proposed round ‘election propaganda’ and demanded that it be canceled.
He was due to arrive in Israel on March 8, just 15 days before the March 23 election, where Benjamin Netanyahu (pic) will be seen against Yair Lapid, the leader of Yesh Atid’s centralist party.
A health worker administers a dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine to one at Clalit Health Services in the Palestinian district of Beit Hanina, in eastern Jerusalem linked to Israel
The controversial politician, who is being tried for corruption and accused by critics of mismanaging the pandemic, has given the vaccine at the front and center of the campaign’s speeches. his, social media posts and interviews.
But with polls predicting no clear winner in March 23 ballot and opponents of Netanyahu’s right to cut some of his traditional supporters, it is unclear whether his strategy will pay off .
‘We are the only ones who can succeed (in emerging from the pandemic) because I have given millions of doses of vaccine,’ Netanyahu said in an interview with Channel 13 Israel TV last week.
‘Thirty world leaders named me. They told me, ‘we give our hat to the way you run things, with the health care services,’ “he said.
More than half of the population of Israel has received the first dose of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, and nearly 40% have received both doses, far more than in any other country in the world.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has delivered 82.5m doses since the vaccine began on Dec. 14. More than half of seniors 65 or older have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, White House officials announced Friday.
Attendees will unveil their ‘green passports’ (proven to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 coronavirus infection) as they arrive at Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv on Friday for a safe testing event with Covid
Netanyahu has said the Israeli economy should be back to full capacity by April 5th.
But the country’s longest-serving leader is under growing pressure. In addition to his domestic trial on allegations of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, which he denies, the International Criminal Court has published an investigation into war crimes in the Palestinian territories was under Israeli occupation during his tenure.
Opponents, saying any Israeli leader would have intervened to get vaccines safe, note that the government would have to put in place three national locks to try to stop it. spike infection rates, with around 6,000 people dying from the virus.
Israeli voters have also been feeling economic pressure: official figures showed unemployment at 18% in January.
Ayala Hasson, news anchor on Channel 13, said Netanyahu’s focus on vaccines stemmed from watching his friend Donald Trump lose in the U.S. primary election.
‘Netanyahu looked carefully at what happened in the United States and saw that Trump lost his leadership because of the COVID case,’ Hasson told Reuters. ‘So he thinks it will help, this issue (vaccines). ‘
But she said the Netanyahu issue was rising sharply among those who had already supported it, and ‘the majority of voters have already decided. ‘
The ‘green pass concert’ will take place in Tel Aviv on Friday, which Israeli authorities hope will be a pilot to show how similar events can be carried out in a safe way Covid
Netanyahu ‘s vaccine push drew praise among Israelis interviewed on Tel Aviv street, but some said it was not enough to get them to vote for’ Bibi ‘, which has been in power continuously since 2009.
‘I think it’s time for a change in Israel and we need someone new, despite the hard work he did with the vaccines,’ said Itay Levy, 21, a software engineer.
Stephen Segal, 32, who owns a coffee industry, said there were more important aspects of coronavirus crisis.
‘Did (Netanyahu) handle the economy well? Did he handle the number of diseases? I was personally struggling with the pandemic – as have many others – so this is really what my vote is going to prove, ‘he said.
Many secular Israelis accuse Netanyahu of avoiding lock-outs within the ultra-rectangular Jewish community – whose political leaders are key partners in their ruling coalition – while imposing restrictions elsewhere.
Israel’s vaccine supply was secured, Netanyahu said, through several phone calls he made to Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, and an offer to give the company real-world data.
His ‘trial leadership’ would ensure an additional vaccine supply, he says.
But on a popular morning show on Israel Kan public radio this week, the familiar clip only drew exasperation.
‘I am giving vaccinations to all Israeli citizens,’ Netanyahu began.
Pfizer told Dailymail.com: ‘We remain interested in meeting the scientific leaders and other key stakeholders who were instrumental in the successful COVID-19 vaccination program in Israel.
‘Any company trip is likely to take place once travel conditions improve and COVID-19-related barriers are relaxed.’