A vial of Moderna Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine.
Photographer: Kobi Wolf / Bloomberg
Photographer: Kobi Wolf / Bloomberg
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While countries all over the world to rinse together For vaccines against the coronavirus, Israel has so many shots that it keeps it Delivery from Moderna Inc. interrupted.
And it does this under attack for not inoculating the millions of Palestinians under its control.
The supply of vaccines exceeds the demand in the world’s largest inoculator per capita, which has contracted to receive millions of doses from Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE in exchange for comprehensive data on the introduction of vaccines in the country. People under 50 were less eager than their older countrymen to queue for an injection, so the pace of vaccination has slowed, with 40% of the country’s 9.3 million people having a first shot got.
A box of vials containing the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine at a medical center in Bethlehem, West Bank, Feb. 7.
Photographer: Kobi Wolf / Bloomberg
Israel is partnering with Pfizer to accelerate data vaccine delivery
Thanks to Pfizer’s steady shipments, much of Moderna’s single delivery, about 100,000 doses in total, remains in cold storage, according to Eli Gilad, a senior health ministry official working on the coronavirus.
“The amount of Moderna in Israel is very small,” and it is not worth it to put another vaccine on the market if the country is using millions of Pfizer doses, Gilad said.
The Moderna stock – which was delivered in January and can remain in storage for six months – will eventually be used and there is no change in expected deliveries, Gilad said. Guidelines for the use of the vaccine have not been issued, said Avi Levin, who manages Tel Aviv’s vaccine complex for the largest Israeli healthcare supplier, Clalit Health Services.
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Israel is also delaying receipt of the supply it has been allocated through a World Health Organization-backed program, an Israeli official said on condition of anonymity to discuss vaccine strategy.
Two thousand Moderna doses were transferred to the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority to vaccinate medical workers, with an additional 3,000 planned. But for the most part, Israel is wiping down calls to provide vaccines for Palestinians.
A Palestinian nurse administers a dose of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine to a health worker at a medical center in Bethlehem, West Bank.
Photographer: Kobi Wolf / Bloomberg
Some officials and advocacy groups say Israel has a responsibility or interest in inoculating the millions of Palestinians under its control.
“The argument that you cannot afford to give to the Palestinians is no longer valid,” said Zvi Bentwich, a board member of Physicians for Human Rights – Israel. The unused Moderna doses, he said, “reinforce that argument.”
But even a program to vaccinate Palestinians working in Israel is not yet in the offing, according to Israeli Deputy Health Minister Yoav Kisch.
Read more: Short Labor, Israel Builders Try to Vaccinate Palestinians
While Moderna and Pfizer both use similar technology and have shown nearly identical results, there are minor differences. The interval between Pfizer injections is three weeks compared to four for Moderna, and Moderna’s vaccine is easier to store and transport, while Pfizer’s requires ultra-cold temperatures.
The slight differences shouldn’t stop Israel from using Moderna, said Eli Waxman, a physicist who leads a team advising the Israeli National Security Council.
“The important thing is to get as many vaccines as possible – Moderna, Pfizer – and get people vaccinated,” Waxman said. “I think they can handle such a change without much effort.”
– With the help of Naomi Kresge