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The health ministry could be forced to semi-freeze its vaccination campaign for two weeks in January, failing which it could run out of injections.
Unless a deal is reached whereby Pfizer’s vaccine supplies, due in February, arrive earlier than expected, current stocks will run out in about 10 days at the current rate of inoculation – around 150,000 shots per day – Channel 13 reported on Wednesday.
The semi-gel would allow those who received the first dose to get the second dose, but new first doses would not be given, according to the report.
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This in turn will likely cause a delay in opening up vaccination to the general public, Channel 12 said. Some officials had previously assessed that this could happen in about a week, but it may now be a month and a half or more, according to the report.
Health Minister Yuli Edelstein has confirmed that his ministry may stop giving the first doses for “a short time,” telling Channel 12 that “the second dose will not be missed.”
Edelstein added that he was in contact with officials at Pfizer to move vaccine orders forward from February to January, but said that “even if we had to stop for two weeks” Israel would still be far ahead of everyone else. countries in terms of vaccinations per capita.
Health Minister Yuli Edelstein receives a coronavirus vaccine at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan on December 19, 2020. (Amir Cohen / Pool / AFP)
Earlier on Wednesday, the Health Ministry announced that 152,000 coronavirus vaccines had been administered on Tuesday, even as Israel recorded its highest number of new COVID-19 cases since early October.
Government officials had set a goal of vaccinating 150,000 Israelis per day by the end of the week.
“On the way to a million vaccinated!” Edelstein tweeted. “Almost 650,000 in total.”
Israel has stepped up its vaccination campaign amid a third nationwide lockdown, which went into effect Sunday evening to stem a surge in infections.
A woman receives a COVID-19 vaccine at a Clalit vaccination center in Rehovot on December 29, 2020 (Yossi Aloni / Flash90)
The health ministry said 5,583 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed on Tuesday, the largest daily increase since early October, during the second lockdown.
Meanwhile, coronavirus czar Nachman Ash has said the lockdown may need to be tightened and warned of a possible slowdown in the pace of the vaccination campaign.
“We are making a great effort to move the next expeditions forward so that no gaps are created. If the shipments don’t arrive sooner, that’s a possibility and it’s worrying, ”Ash told the Ynet news site.
However, Sharon Elroy-Preis, acting head of the public health services division, played down fears of a possible vaccine shortage.
“We are in a routine process to receive air shipments of vaccine from Pfizer to make sure it continues like this,” she told Kan.
She touted hospitals’ ability to administer vaccines, after joining health maintenance organizations this week to vaccinate the general public, and said the ministry wanted to distribute special materials to those who have been vaccinated.
Israel began its vaccination campaign on December 20, focusing on healthcare workers, those over 60 and certain at-risk groups.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel is aiming for 2.25 million Israelis out of a population of 9.2 million to be vaccinated by the end of January.
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