Israel's health maintenance organizations were informed Thursday that Israel is going to receive a far greater high number of COVID-19 vaccine doses than initially thought.
Israel is now due to receive two shipments of two million doses each, which are expected to arrive either by the end of December or the start of January.
Like Britain, which will next week embark on a mass vaccination program, Israel's first batch of doses will be provided by Pfizer Inc.
The American pharma giant developed its vaccine with German company BioNTech and received funding from Berlin. Germany said in October that it would share with Israel any coronavirus vaccination created in Europe.
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Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, left, and his German counterpart Heiko Maas meeting in Berlin
(Photo: AFP)
German Health Minister Jens Spahn informed Israeli Ambassador to Germany Jeremy Issacharoff of the decision, which came following a meeting the week before between Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and his German counterpart Heiko Maas in Berlin.
The first batch of doses due to be received by Israel will enough to inoculate two million.
At this stage, no decision has been taken on how to vaccines will be distributed between Israel's various HMOs, although it is likely that the division will be in proportion to the number of members of each HMO.
Health Ministry DG Hezi Levi told Ynet last month that Israel will initially receive a small number of doses and express the hope that everyone in a high-risk group in Israel will be vaccinated by the end of Q1 2021.
The first people to be vaccinated, in line with Health Ministry guidance for flu jabs, will be healthcare professionals and the elderly population, as well as those considered high-risk.
A final decision, however, has yet to be taken along with a decision on wh