Israel received an initial shipment of 3,000-4,000 Pfizer coronavirus vaccines on Wednesday, a day earlier than first announced.
Speaking in front of the DHL cargo jet on the tarmac at Ben Gurion Airport, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that "today was a day of celebration" as the end of the pandemic was "now in sight."
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Israel has recorded 349,024 corona cases since the pandemic erupted in mid-March, including 2,933 deaths. There are currently 321 patients in serious condition and 95 critical patients who have been placed on ventilators.
Accompanied by Health Minister Yuli Edelstein, Netanyahu said that as a way to encourage Israelis to get the new treatment, he would volunteer to get the vaccination.
"What's important to me is that Israelis get vaccinated. I believe in this vaccine. I want the public to get vaccinated and so I will be first," Netanyahu said.
"I have been the prime minister of Israel for quite a few years, and this is one of the most exciting moments [in office]," he said. "I worked hard for months with the Health Ministry and other organizations to find a solution to the pandemic and now you see the forklift unloading the first vaccines of millions that will come for Israelis."
The doses that arrived were immediately transferred to an ultra-cold storage facility managed by Israeli pharmaceutical firm Teva, which earlier this week was named the vaccine's distributor in Israel.
Wednesday's relatively small shipment will be used in a trial run to test transportation and storage procedures, while a larger batch containing 110,000 doses is expected to arrive on Thursday.
According to Channel 12 News, Dec. 20 is the official date scheduled for launching a national immunization campaign, although inoculations could begin as early as next week.
Due to the complex logistics of storing the vaccines in ultra-low temperatures (minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit), the doses expire five days after being delivered to hospitals and clinics.
Citizens choosing to get vaccinated will reportedly receive benefits from the government, such as not requiring isolation when returning from abroad or being exposed to a confirmed coronavirus carrier.
Pfizer and its partner BioNTech last month agreed to provide Israel with 8 million doses of the vaccine, which Britain became the first country to administer on Tuesday.
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