Israel Purchases New Batch Of COVID-19 Vaccines, Considers A Possible Third Dose

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced Sunday morning that a new batch of vaccines would be arriving from Pfizer in three weeks. Previously it had been feared that Israel would not be able to continue its vaccination campaign since vaccines had run out.

Bennett said that “I’m happy to announce that after a string of discussions with Pfizer CEO Albert Burla, we closed a deal to advance the next batch of vaccines to the 1st of August. This will ensure a continued stock of vaccines in Israel.

In recent weeks, Israel has intensified its campaign to vaccinate youths aged 12-16 and the prime minister stressed that “we now have a first dose for anyone who wants and the second dose will arrive within three weeks. Whoever has yet to vaccinate, old and young should do so. Whoever does so protects himself as well as grandma and grandpa and allows the state of Israel to continue its routine without closures.”

Bennett praised the health minister and his officials for helping to close the deal and to enable the recent swap with South Korea.

The new batch will contain just 200,000 doses of vaccine but the prime minister’s office said that “this number gives us the required amount at present.”

The Israeli Health Ministry is also considering giving a possible third dose of vaccine to Israelis from the Moderna vaccines in its possession.

At Sunday’s cabinet meeting, Bennett outlined the government strategy which would be “one eye on public health and curbing the virus and the other on the economy and routine.” The government is considering how to regulate mass events in the summer in order to prevent largescale infection rather than cancelling such events.