The Palestinian Authority has approved the use of the Sputnik-5 COVID vaccine, developed by Russia's Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, according to a press release from the Russian Direct Investment Fund published Monday by Interfax news agency.
The RDIF said that the PA had expedited approval of the Russian vaccine, without conducting additional clinical trials in the PA. Representatives of the RDIF also said that similar expedited approval processes had been conducted in Argentina, Bolivia, Serbia, and Algeria. The vaccine has also been approved for use in Belarus.
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According to the press release, shipments of the Sputnik-5 vaccine were slated to be delivered to the PA in the first quarter of this year, and the first doses were scheduled to arrive by the end of January. The vaccines for the PA will be procured by the RDIF, India, China, South Korea, and other countries, the RDIF noted.
Last week, Israel Hayom reported that pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca had negotiated with PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh to supply enough of its own vaccine to vaccinate the entire Palestinian population in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip – some 4 million doses. The PA is slated to receive another million or so doses from the international COVAX initiative, which pools resources to ensure that poor countries can secure vaccines.
According to the terms of the PA's deal with AstraZeneca, the nations that donate to the PA will underwrite the entire cost of the vaccine purchase, estimated to tally tens of millions of dollars.
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