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A vial of Moderna Inc. Covid-19 vaccine.
Photographer: Kobi Wolf / Bloomberg
Photographer: Kobi Wolf / Bloomberg
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As countries around the world scramble for coronavirus vaccines, Israel has so many vaccines that it keeps its Moderna Inc. supply pending.
And he does so under fire for failing to vaccinate the millions of Palestinians under his control.
Vaccine supply exceeded demand for the world’s first inoculator per capita, which has pledged to receive millions of doses from Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE in exchange for detailed data on vaccine deployment in the country. People under 50 were less eager than their older compatriots to queue for a vaccine, so the pace of vaccination slowed, with 40% of the country’s 9.3 million people receiving a first vaccination.
A box containing vials of Moderna Covid-19 vaccine at a medical center in Bethlehem, West Bank, February 7.
Photographer: Kobi Wolf / Bloomberg
Israel signs deal with Pfizer to speed up vaccine shipments for data
Thanks to Pfizer’s regular shipments, much of Moderna’s single shipment, totaling around 100,000 doses, remains in cold storage, according to Eli Gilad, a senior Ministry of Health official working on the coronavirus.
“The amount of Moderna in Israel is very low,” and it’s not worth putting another vaccine into circulation as the country uses millions of doses of Pfizer, Gilad said.
The Moderna supply – which was delivered in January and can remain in longer-term storage for six months – will eventually be used up and there has been no change in planned shipments, Gilad said. Guidelines for the use of the vaccine have not been published, said Avi Levin, who manages the Tel Aviv vaccine complex for Israel’s largest Health care supplier, Clalit Health Services.
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Israel is also postponing receipt of the supply allocated to it under a program supported by the World Health Organization, an Israeli official said on condition of anonymity to discuss the vaccine strategy.
Two thousand doses of Moderna have been transferred to the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority to vaccinate medical staff, with 3,000 additional people planned. But for the most part, Israel is rejecting calls to provide vaccines to Palestinians.
A Palestinian nurse administers a dose of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine to a health worker at a medical center in Bethlehem, West Bank.
Photographer: Kobi Wolf / Bloomberg
Some officials and advocacy groups say Israel has a responsibility or interest in immunizing the millions of Palestinians under its control.
“The argument that you cannot afford to give to the Palestinians no longer holds,” said Zvi Bentwich, board member of Physicians for Human Rights – Israel. The unused doses of Moderna, he said, “reinforce this argument.”
But even a vaccination program for Palestinians working in Israel is not yet in sight, according to Israeli Deputy Health Minister Yoav Kisch.
Read more: Short work, Israeli builders seek to vaccinate Palestinians
While Moderna and Pfizer both use similar technology and have demonstrated almost identical results, there are small differences. The interval between Pfizer injections is three weeks compared to Moderna four, and Moderna’s vaccine is easier to store and transport, while Pfizer’s requires ultra-cold temperatures.
The minor deviations should not deter Israel from using Moderna, said Eli Waxman, a physicist leading a team advising Israel’s National Security Council.
“The most important thing is to get as many vaccines as possible – Moderna, Pfizer – and to get people vaccinated,” Waxman said. “I think they would be able to handle such a modification without much difficulty.”
– With the help of Naomi Kresge
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