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Israel has entered into a secret deal with Pfizer-BioNTech, under which the pharmaceutical company will immediately provide vaccine shipments to the Jewish state if Israel says it is administering COVID-19 booster shots, according to a report on Monday.
Channel 13 News said the deal was reached following intense discussions between representatives from the Department of Health and Pfizer-BioNTech, as well as personal conversations between Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla.
This would replace existing delivery agreements, the network said. Israel is expected to receive a small delivery in early August and another larger delivery in October.
Last week, Israel began giving booster doses to people with weakened immune systems, including heart, liver and kidney transplant patients, despite lack of approval from foreign regulatory agencies. But health ministry officials said third doses for the general population are not imminent, stressing that the vaccine remains largely effective.
However, a decision could be made on giving recalls to people over 60 in Israel even before final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according to the TV report.
The report cites a recent study from Yale University which found that there is a significant increase in immunity to COVID-19 after a third vaccine injection.
The number of Israelis with the coronavirus has increased over the past month as the ultra-contagious Delta variant takes hold in the country. Health Ministry morbidity figures released Monday evening showed there were 1,110 new cases of COVID-19 diagnosed that day at 10 p.m. compared to a daily workload of a few dozen ago. a month.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla speaks during a press conference at the Pfizer plant in Puurs, Belgium. (John Thys / Pool / AFP)
As of Monday evening, there were 7,540 active coronavirus patients, a number that was around 200 a month ago. Since the start of the pandemic, 852,943 cases have been diagnosed in Israel and 6,450 people have died from COVID-19.
Israel’s current stock of Pfizer vaccines is set to expire at the end of July, but Bennett announced earlier this month that he had negotiated a new deal with Pfizer to bring forward an August 1 delivery. This agreement was intended to allow the continuation of a campaign aimed at vaccinating young people between the ages of 12 and 15.
Israel is also expected to receive 700,000 doses from South Korea at some point after an exchange deal for Israel’s expiring doses was reached earlier this month.
Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also negotiated directly with Bourla last year to ensure the prompt delivery of vaccines for Israel’s national immunization program.
The Delta variant of the coronavirus is believed to be more successful at bypassing vaccines than previous strains of the virus. Figures from the Department of Health released in early July indicated that the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is only 64% effective in preventing infection, but remains 93% effective in preventing hospitalization and severe symptoms.
Some health officials have questioned these figures, noting that they were only collected over a period of one month, and arguing that the Pfizer vaccine is actually more effective against the Delta variant than is commonly believed. claims. Nonetheless, Pfizer cited data from Israel to seek clearance from the U.S. Federal Drug Administration for a third booster dose of its vaccine.
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