A medical worker prepares a dose of COVID-19 Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine at a vaccination center in Antwerp, Belgium, March 18, 2021. REUTERS / Yves Herman
Israel no longer wants the AstraZeneca (AZN.L) COVID-19 vaccine and is exploring with the company whether a large pipeline transport could be sent elsewhere, the Israeli pandemic coordinator said on Wednesday.
“We are trying to find the best solution. After all, we do not want (the vaccines) to get here and throw them in the trash,” Nachman Ash told Army Radio, saying Israel’s needs are being met by others. suppliers.
In his comments, Ash made no reference to the fact that the AstraZeneca vaccine was associated with very rare blood clots in Europe. Many countries have resumed its administration after the European Union’s drug surveillance unit said the benefits outweighed the risks.
Israel launched a large network last year when it tried to deliver pandemic vaccine doses and ordered from a number of companies.
It has largely settled on the Pfizer (PFE.N) / BioNTech (22UAy.DE) vaccine, launching one of the fastest launches in the world. COVID-19 infections in Israel have dropped dramatically and the economy has reopened.
Israel also buys COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna (MRNA.O), which use a similar messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. Read more
Ash said that with secure supplies by 2022, Israel will no longer need the 10 million doses it has agreed to buy from AstraZeneca.
“They can definitely be used in other parts of the world. Right now, we’re trying to find, together with the company, the best way to do that,” he said.
“We think it would be best if they (the vaccines) didn’t come to Israel and we agree with the company on some way to divert them elsewhere.”
AstraZeneca officials had no immediate comment.
About 81% of Israeli citizens or residents over the age of 16 – the age group eligible for the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine in Israel – received both doses.
About 167,000 of the 5.2 million Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Hamas-administered Islamist Gaza had at least one dose of vaccine, with supplies from Israel, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, the global COVAX vaccine sharing program and China.
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