New COVID vaccines to be delivered on August 1 Israel and Pfizer agree

However, thanks to the new deal, the vaccination campaign will continue.

“We have been working on the vaccine issue for several weeks,” Bennett said. “This morning, I am happy to report that after a series of talks with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, we reached an agreement last night to move the next vaccine delivery to August 1.”

“There are vaccines for everyone,” he added, urging anyone who has not been vaccinated to do so.

Some 200,000 doses of vaccine are expected to be delivered on August 1.

Last week, Israel announced that it had reached a deal with South Korea for a vaccine swap deal. As part of the agreement, South Korea has received some 700,000 doses, which it will return with its next vaccine delivery.

Earlier today, Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said immunocompromised patients in Israel will be able to receive a third injection of the Pfizer vaccine starting today.

Speaking to KAN Radio, Horowitz said healthcare providers will determine who are eligible patients. The opportunity is available to those with specific conditions, for example those who have had an organ transplant.

Meanwhile, Israel continues to record a high number of daily cases. If at the beginning of June some 10-20 new carriers of the virus every day, today we are talking about several hundred. On most days of the past week, Israel has recorded more than 500 cases. As of Saturday, 261 new carriers of the virus were identified, but with a significantly lower number of tests – around 50,000 compared to more than 70,000.

The number of active cases, which fell to less than 200 just a few weeks ago, now stands at more than 4,100.

At the same time, the increase in severe morbidity remained minimal. As of Saturday evening, there were 44 severe patients. In April, with a similar number of active cases, they were over 260.

At the coronavirus cabinet meeting last Wednesday, ministers said the number of critically ill patients will be the central parameter in determining the country’s strategy against the virus.

Professor Eran Segal, a computational biologist at the Weizmann Institute of Science, who is an adviser to the government, said he did not believe Israel would reach the same number of these patients he had recorded during the height of the pandemic – some 1,200.

“Why don’t I think we don’t get back to some 1,000 critically ill patients in hospitals? He tweeted. “Because all it takes to get back to the pre-Delta decline (in cases) is an additional number of individuals vaccinated or recovered. How much? It’s not clear, maybe 500,000, maybe more.

Before the contagious Delta variant spread to Israel, many experts believed the country had achieved some form of herd immunity, as outbreaks were very limited for several months.

However, the level of a population immune to the virus – by inoculation or previous infection – needed to achieve herd immunity increases as the virus’s ability to infect increases, as in the case of the Delta variant.

“Another 200,000 have been vaccinated in the past two weeks and if some more of the 1.1 million we have not yet vaccinated get bitten, that may be enough,” Segal wrote. “Otherwise, and the increase in new cases will continue, but this time, because of the vaccines, it will take many more cases than before to reach the same number of critically ill patients. According to our model, maybe even 500,000, which in itself will lead to healing for many people, which will help start a further decline (in cases).

Segal noted that in the UK, where the Delta variant is raging, there are eight to ten times fewer people succumbing to the virus and three or four times fewer hospital patients compared to the period before the onset of the virus. vaccination.

Also on Sunday, the government approved the appointment of Coronavirus Commissioner Professor Nachman Ash as the new Director General of the Ministry of Health, replacing Professor Chezy Levy.