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GAZA (Reuters) - The Palestinian Authority said on Sunday it expects to receive its first COVID-19 vaccine doses in March under a deal with drugmaker AstraZeneca, and accused Israel of shirking a duty to ensure vaccines are available in occupied territory.
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While Israel has already become the world leader in vaccinations per capita, Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip have yet to secure their first supplies.
Yasser Bozyeh, the Palestinian general director of public health, told Reuters that in addition to reaching an agreement in principle with AstraZeneca, the Palestinians had also sought supplies from Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and Russia, which has developed the Sputnik V vaccine.
Palestinians give first vaccines after Israel shares supply
by Joseph Krauss, The Associated Press
Posted Feb 2, 2021 11:13 am EDT
Last Updated Feb 2, 2021 at 11:14 am EDT
JERUSALEM The Palestinian Authority administered its first known coronavirus vaccinations on Tuesday after receiving thousands of doses from Israel, which launched its own vaccination campaign in December and has already inoculated more than a third of its population.
A Palestinian official confirmed that a first dose was given to a small number of medical workers. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the PA does not consider this the official start of its vaccination campaign.
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Joseph Krauss
FILE - In this Jan. 12, 2021 file photo, a health care professional prepares a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Sheba Tel Hashomer Hospital in Ramat Gan, Israel. Israel Defense Minister Benny Gantzâs office said Sundya, Jan. 31, 2021, that Israel has agreed to transfer 5,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine to the Palestinians to immunize front-line medical workers. It is the first time that Israel has confirmed the transfer of vaccines to the Palestinians. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty, File) February 02, 2021 - 9:37 AM
JERUSALEM - The Palestinian Authority administered its first known coronavirus vaccinations on Tuesday after receiving thousands of doses from Israel, which has already inoculated more than a third of its population.
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Israelis receive a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine from medical professionals at a vaccination center set up on a mall parking lot in Givataim, Israel, during a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the virus, on Jan. 20.
How has tiny Israel beat out bigger countries on COVID-19 vaccinations, securing a steady stream of vials and inoculating a larger share of its citizenry than any other nation?
Israel paid a premium, locked in an early supply of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines and struck a unique deal: vaccines for data.
The nation of some 9 million promised Pfizer a swift vaccine rollout, along with data from Israel s centralized trove of medical statistics to study whether herd immunity is achieved after reaching a certain percentage of vaccination coverage in Israel, according to their agreement.