Israel Requests Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine from the US

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Israel is reportedly negotiating to secure the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine jointly developed by the American pharmaceutical company Pfizer and the German company BioNTech.

On the 9th (local time), according to the Israeli local media The Jerusalem Post, Israeli Finance Minister Israel Katz stated in a press release that he requested the U.S. government to assist in accessing the Pfizer vaccine.

Minister Katz said, "I asked U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to help supply vaccines to Israel."

Senior officials from the Israeli Ministry of Health also announced on the same day that the Israeli government is negotiating to secure the Pfizer vaccine.

Earlier, Pfizer announced clinical trial results showing that their vaccine demonstrated over 90% effectiveness in preventing COVID-19, based on an analysis of 94 participants infected with COVID-19 during phase 3 clinical trials.

Following Pfizer's announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on Facebook, "Important development! I am working very hard with world leaders to bring that vaccine to Israel."

Israel has been moving quickly to secure medical supplies related to COVID-19.

Israel's foreign intelligence agency, Mossad, has utilized its extensive overseas network to bring COVID-19 test kits and masks into Israel.

Additionally, according to Israeli media last month, Mossad brought a Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccine to Israel for research purposes.

In Israel's case, the Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) began clinical trials for a COVID-19 vaccine on the 1st of this month.

With a population of about 9.2 million, Israel is considered one of the countries in the Middle East with a severe infection situation, recording a cumulative total of 320,184 confirmed COVID-19 cases (2,678 deaths) as of the morning of the 10th.

According to the international statistics site 'Worldometer,' Israel recorded 547 new daily COVID-19 cases on the 7th, 292 on the 8th, and 647 on the 9th.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.