American biotech giant Moderna is set to deliver two batches of 150,000 vaccines to Israel, Kan 11 News reported Wednesday, adding that the first shipment will arrive next week.
On Nov. 16, 2020, Moderna announced its COVID-19 vaccine was almost 95% effective, marking a second major breakthrough in the quest to end the pandemic.
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Israel is set to run out of its supply of Pfizer vaccines by next week. The next Pfizer delivery is not expected until mid-February.
News of the Moderna vaccine delivery came as the Health Ministry reported that for the second day, over 8,150 Israelis were diagnosed with coronavirus.
This brings the current number of confirmed cases in Israel to 458,132, including 59,229 active cases. So far, 3,495 Israelis have died from the disease.
The government voted Tuesday night in favor of a full nationwide lockdown starting at midnight between Thursday and Friday.
The measure will include shuttering schools and all nonessential businesses for two weeks. Israelis will be limited to traveling one kilometer from their home, and gatherings will be kimited to five indoors and 10 outdoors.
Lockdown measures will exclude essential services such as supermarkets, pharmacies, and gas stations, as well as special education institutions.
Kan reported that the government will mandate all arrivals to be tested and enter quarantine of up to two weeks.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attributed the spike in morbiditi to the British variant of the virus.
"We are in the midst of a global pandemic that is spreading at record speed with the British mutation. It has reached Israel and claimed many lives. We must immediately impose a full lockdown. Every hour that we delay, the disease spreads even quicker."
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