Israel has received its first batch of Pfizer/BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declaring the pandemic’s end is “in sight” and vowing to get the first jab.
Speaking on the tarmac at Ben Gurion airport, near Tel Aviv, as a fork-lift truck started unloading the cargo from a red and yellow DHL air freighter, he said; “This is a great celebration for Israel”.
The shipment was the first of eight million doses ordered from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its partner BioNTech.
It came ahead of Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, which begins on Thursday, December 10.
According to Wednesday’s update by the country’s health authorities, the virus infected 348,948 Israelis, 2,932 of them fatally.
The Prime Minister added;
What is important to me is that Israeli citizens get vaccinated. I want to serve as an example to them and I intend to be the first to be injected with this vaccine in the state of Israel.
The Pfizer vaccine was yet to receive the necessary regulatory approvals for use in Israel but Netanyahu said he expected it to receive clearance “in the very near” future.
The results of third-phase clinical trials showed that the vaccine was 90 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 symptoms and did not produce adverse side effects among thousands of volunteers.
Israel has also contracted to buy six million COVID-19 vaccine doses from US biotech firm Moderna which are expected to be delivered in 2021, giving a total of 14 million shots for its population of nine million.
Read Also: UK Issues Allergy Warning Over Pfizer/BioNTech Vaccine
Britain started inoculating its citizens with the vaccine on Tuesday but issued warning on Wednesday that anyone with a history of significant allergic reactions should not received the vaccine for the time being.
The warning came after two members of the state-run National Health Service who were among the first to receive the vaccine on Tuesday suffered allergic reactions and needed treatment.
