JERUSALEM – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday said Israel is hoping to vaccinate a quarter of its population against the coronavirus within a month, in order to return to post-pandemic normalcy.
“I spoke over the weekend with the heads of the companies that are providing us with the vaccines, and I told them that our goal by next weekend is to reach 150,000 vaccines a day,” he said in a video.
“This means that within 30 days of reaching this pace, we will have administered 4.5 million vaccinations.
“Since everyone needs two injections, after one month, we will have vaccinated 2.25 million Israeli citizens.”
Netanyahu was the first Israeli to receive a Covid-19 jab on December 19, ahead of the launch tomorrow of a nationwide inoculation programme.
By Friday morning, 210,000 people had received a first dose of the vaccine developed by US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech.
Netanyahu said he hopes the vaccination drive will help Israel “emerge from the coronavirus”, allowing it to reopen its economy “and do things that no country can do”.
His comments come as Israel prepares to start today a nationwide two-week lockdown – its third since the pandemic started earlier this year – after a sharp rebound in the infection rate.
Israelis will be barred from travelling more than 1km from their homes, and businesses will be closed except for deliveries.
Exceptions will be made for those travelling for medical treatment, including vaccinations, and schools will remain partially open for some age groups.
In a population of nine million, Israel has confirmed 398,015 cases, 3,203 of them fatal. – AFP, December 27, 2020
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