Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel is negotiating with U.S. pharmaceutical giant Moderna to secure more doses of the company's COVID-19 vaccine.
Moderna announced on Monday that its version of a coronavirus vaccine proved to be 94.5% efficient in clinical trials.
"We have signed a supply agreement with [Moderna] to a certain extent, and we are negotiating with them over additional supplies, and I hope that following this conversation, we may complete the negotiations quickly," Netanyahu said.
"I must tell you that their CEO was very friendly," he said, referring to Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel. "My policy is to bring as many vaccines as possible from as many sources as possible to as many citizens as possible in as little time as possible."
Israel currently has a $66-million (NIS 230-million) agreement with Moderna which will supply the country with up to a million and a half doses.
Netanyahu announced last Thursday that Israel had also signed an agreement with U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer on its newly developed coronavirus vaccine.
Pfizer will supply Israel with up to 8 million vaccine doses, which are enough to innoculate 4 million citizens, starting January of next year.
It is yet unclear when Moderna's jab will arrive, but estimates say the first shipment will land in March-April, leaving any unexpected holdups.