Netanyahu receives a coronavirus vaccine at the Sheba Medical
Center, the country’s largest hospital, in Ramat Gan near the
coastal city of Tel Aviv, on December 19, 2020. AMIR COHEN / POOL /
AFP
Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu received a Covid-19 vaccine jab on
Saturday, kicking off a national rollout over the coming
days.
Netanyahu, 71, and Israel’s health minister were injected with
the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine live on TV at Sheba Medical Center in
Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv.
“I asked to be vaccinated first, together with Health
Minister Yuli Edelstein, to serve as personal examples and
encourage you to be vaccinated,” Netanyahu told the
television audience.
Each recipient must receive a booster shot in three weeks for
optimal protection from the novel coronavirus.
Latest Israeli health ministry figures reported over 370,000
people had tested positive for the virus since the Jewish state, a
country of around nine million, confirmed its first case in
February.
Just over 3,000 people have died.
The vaccine will be rolled out at 10 hospitals and vaccination
centres around Israel for healthcare workers from Sunday, according
to the health ministry.
During the course of the week, a ministry statement said,
vaccinations will be extended to the general public, starting with
those aged over 60.
Netanyahu spent Monday to Friday in self-isolation after
coming into contact with a confirmed coronavirus patient, despite
testing negative for the virus on Sunday and again on Monday.
Ten days ago, he was at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport to welcome a
first batch of the vaccine.
The shipment was the first of eight million doses Israel has
ordered from US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its German partner
BioNTech.
The vaccine needs to be stored at the ultra-low temperature of
-70 degrees Celsius (-94 Fahrenheit), posing handling and storage
challenges.
Other countries have begun rolling out the vaccine already.
Britain started inoculating its citizens with the same vaccine
on December 8.
It has since been approved by the United States, Canada and, on
Saturday, Switzerland.
US Vice President Mike Pence got the jab live on television
Friday, while President-elect Joe Biden is set to receive his shot
on Monday.
President Donald Trump has made it clear he is not planning to
take the vaccine imminently, citing the belief that his recovery
from a brief but severe bout of Covid-19 has given him
immunity.
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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.
Hug for grandma
Israel imposed a second nationwide lockdown in September, when
the country had one of the world’s highest per capita infection
rates.
Restrictions have since been gradually eased, but case numbers
are again on the rise, with a further clampdown predicted.
Netanyahu said receiving the vaccine was a first step
toward a return to normality.
“On the way here I thought about the children worried about
their parents, the grandchildren who want to hug grandma and
grandpa — not a Zoom hug but a real hug,” he said.
“We will be able to go to football grounds, to see basketball
games and, of course, to reopen the country and restore it to what
it was, to go back to the normal life that we desire.”
The Palestinian territories have also seen a spike in Covid-19
cases in recent weeks.
On Thursday, the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority announced
stricter restrictions, including the closure of schools and
universities, for two weeks to combat the virus’ spread.
Last week, PA president Mahmud Abbas announced that Christmas
mass in Bethlehem, where Christians believe Jesus was born, would
be closed to the public this year due to the pandemic.
The Israeli-occupied West Bank, with a Palestinian population of
more than 2.8 million, has officially recorded over 88,000
coronavirus infections, including 869 deaths, according to the
Palestinian health ministry’s Saturday update.
In the Gaza Strip, with around two million inhabitants, there
have been over 33,000 cases, with 248 deaths.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi has said that Israel
might provide vaccinations for Palestinians once it has vaccinated
its own priority groups, such as frontline health providers.
AFP
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