Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has spoken by phone with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla several times in recent days about coronavirus vaccine supplies and a possible exchange of vaccines between Israel and other countries.
Israel currently has a supply of about 1.4 million vaccine doses that are due to expire at the end of this month and is therefore encouraging all those who are not yet inoculated – including children aged 12-15 who only became eligible for a jab last month – to go and receive their first shot before July 10.
However, it is clear that over one million doses will be destined for the bin unless another solution can be found.
Bennett and Bourla talked about possible deals to vaccines exchange between Israel and various countries. According to the statement, negotiations are currently being conducted by the Health Ministry, the Foreign Ministry and the National Security Council.
Last month, Israel announced it had reached a deal to provide its surplus of vaccines to the Palestinian Authority, who committed to give Israel the new Pfizer supply it was due to receive later in the year but the PA soon backtracked from the deal, stating that it was not aware how close the vaccines were to their expiration date.
In the past few days, local media reported that Israel was holding discussions with the UK over a similar exchange agreement. However, earlier on Sunday, the Health Ministry’s Director-General Chezy Levy said that the deal had fallen through.
In an interview with Radio 103 FM, he confirmed that such a deal had been discussed with Britain last week but said an agreement had not materialized and was “a thing of the past.”
Levy did not provide details about the number of doses Israel was looking to hand over in a swap arrangement.
“We are negotiating with other countries,” Levi told Radio 103 FM, without naming them. “We are dealing with this day and night.”
He said the doses expire on July 31 and that any deal would have to win Pfizer’s approval.
A Pfizer spokesperson said the company “is happy to discuss potential donations requests of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID vaccine between governments on a case-by-case basis, particularly if this helps ensure the vaccine is used to protect people from this disease.”
In December, Israel launched one of the world’s fastest vaccine drives and has since vaccinated nearly 90% of people over the age of 50, a group considered to be at the highest.
Overall, however, around a fifth of all eligible Israelis have not yet had the vaccine, according to health ministry data.
With infections falling from more than 10,000 daily cases in January to single digits, Israel, with a population of 9.3 million, has dropped nearly all coronavirus curbs.
But an uptick in cases that began in mid-June, attributed to the more contagious Delta variant, may bring some restrictions back, Levy said.
Vaccination rates peaked in January and gradually fell until June, when 12- to 15-year-olds became eligible to receive the jab. Delta’s spread, particularly among schoolchildren, has spurred parents to get their children inoculated and the rate has increased five-fold since early June.
Levy said Pfizer’s vaccine was about 85-88% effective against the delta variant, a high figure, but lower than its effectiveness against other strains.
He based that figure on a British study as well as recent research by the health ministry. A ministry spokesperson did not immediately provide more details about the study.
According to the statement, Bennett and Bourla will continue to communicate directly to discuss strategies to fight the virus and its new variants.