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Israel is expected to receive its final deliveries of the coronavirus vaccine from Pfizer within the next two weeks.
The government and the pharmaceutical giant had signed a deal for ten million doses – enough to completely inoculate about five million Israelis – and these last 1.5 million doses will top it off.
According to sources from health maintenance organizations, the timing of the shipments is not likely to affect the vaccination campaign schedule or appointments.
Health officials said about 500,000 doses of the new shipments will be used to deliver second doses to people who have already received their first injection. Normally, HMOs reserve second doses for anyone who has already received the first, but due to a recent temporary shortage of vaccines, some of these reserves were used to deliver additional first doses, with new shipments coming in. soon.
To date, Israel has administered around 7.5 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine. While the new shipments are expected to provide enough vaccine to meet Israel’s goal of vaccinating five million people – which the government hopes to reach by April – it also depends on people’s willingness to be vaccinated. On Sunday morning, more than 4.3 million Israelis received the first shot from Pfizer; of these, more than 2.9 million received the second dose.
In March, Israel is expected to receive hundreds of thousands of doses of the Moderna vaccine. Israel bought six million doses from the company, enough to immunize three million people.
Health care sources speculate that some of the doses could be given to Palestinians working in Israel and people who have recovered from the coronavirus – two groups that are not yet eligible for vaccination.
Israel could also sign another vaccine deal with Pfizer this year, this time to vaccinate children under 16. The company is currently conducting clinical trials in children between the ages of 12 and 16, and the results will likely be published in the coming months.
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