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Israel announces deal for 10 million doses of Oxford's Covid vaccine

The agreement for the AstraZeneca-manufactured vaccine is the country's biggest to date

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Israel has reached an agreement to receive 10 million doses of the Oxford University Covid-19 vaccine.

The news was announced in a joint statement by the Israeli government and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, which is manufacturing the vaccine.

Subject to approval by the regulatory authorities, an initial supply is expected to arrive in Israel in the first half of 2021. With two doses required per person, the supply would cover at least half the Israeli population.

Israel has signed supply arrangements for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and is reportedly in talks with Russia for its Sputnik V vaccine. But the AstraZeneca deal is its biggest – and the latest data suggests a strong immune response in older adults.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he wanted vaccines to be available for every citizen. "We would rather have a surplus of options than a shortage. The more vaccines for the most people from as many sources as possible and as quickly as possible.”

AstraZeneca Israel chief executive Ohad Goldberg hailed an “historic agreement led by the company’s local representation that will enable access to the vaccine for millions of Israeli citizens”.

Israel is also developing its own vaccine that could be ready by the end of the summer.

The latest figures show there have been 328,000 coronavirus cases in Israel and 2,757 deaths, with four reported yesterday.

 

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