Israel PM said mass COVID-19 vaccine campaign will be made available in late December
Tel Aviv [Israel]: Israel is scheduled to start a mass vaccination campaign against the novel coronavirus on December 27, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late on Wednesday.
“We will start the first COVID-19 vaccination on December 27 – in two and a half weeks …. Israel is ready to make 60,000 vaccinations per day, and this is a huge figure, “Netanyahu said in a speech, broadcast by Israeli TV channels.
The country’s health authorities will grant the so-called green passport for those inoculated to allow them to move freely, the prime minister added, noting that he plans to get vaccinated first.
Earlier in the day, a plane carrying the first doses of the Pfizer / BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine aboard landed at the Ben Gurion airport. In mid-November, Netanyahu announced the signing of a contract with Pfizer to secure two-dose jabs for 4 million of its citizens.
Apart from the contract with Pfizer, Israel also has deals with US biotechnology company Moderna and COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers. In addition, the country launched clinical trials of its own vaccine in November. Phase 3 is scheduled for April-May.
Earlier, Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center, one of Israel’s most authoritative medical facilities, said it had ordered 1.5 million doses of Russian-made coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V, with the deliveries pending the ministry’s approval. If the ministry refuses authorization, Hadassah plans to use the vaccine in its foreign branches.
