(JNS) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was on hand at Ben-Gurion International Airport to welcome the arrival of a plane bearing the first shipment of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.
Israel inked a $237.5 million deal with Pfizer last month for 8 million doses of the vaccine, sufficient to inoculate nearly half the country’s population. On Sunday, the Israeli Health Ministry announced in a joint statement with the Prime Minister’s Office that the country had signed a deal with Moderna, tripling the number of vaccines it will purchase from the company in 2021, from 2 million to 6 million doses, sufficient to vaccinate 3 million citizens. Israel is also in the midst of clinical trials for its own vaccine, called BriLife.
“We are here today on a great holiday for the State of Israel. We see the end. We still need to follow the rules regarding masks, hands and distancing, but the end is in sight,” said Netanyahu.
“I believe in this vaccine. I expect that it will receive the appropriate permits in the coming days and I want the citizens of Israel to be vaccinated. In order to do this, I want to serve as an example for them, and I intend to be the first in the State of Israel to be vaccinated with this vaccine,” he said.
