The Palestinian Authority admitted on Tuesday that some of the COVID-19 vaccine doses it received to inoculate health workers were in fact administered to others, prompting a public outcry as earlier statements from officials suggested those would only be used for medical professionals.
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According to a statement from the Palestinian Health Ministry, the Palestinians, who are yet to begin mass inoculations, have thus far received 12,000 vaccine doses in total.
Out of those, 2,000 dozes went to the Gaza Strip, while the West Bank retained the rest, also handing over some 200 doses to Jordan.
In the West Bank, 8,820 vaccines were administered to essential healthcare workers, including the staff at intensive care units and first responders.
Also on the list of those prioritized for immunization, however, were the athletes playing for the Palestinian national soccer team, who required the vaccines for matches abroad, the ministry said.
Palestinian ministers also got their inoculations, as did the security details for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh.
Some of the foreign diplomatic missions in the West Bank received doses to they could vaccinate their staff, and about 100 students sought the vaccine to head abroad.
Finally, some of the officials with the Central Elections Commission and Palestine Liberation Organization executive committee members were vaccinated as well.
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The statement, which the ministry also shared on social media, went viral almost immediately and users did not mince words in expressing their opinion of Ramallah's decision.
"As long as the soccer team gets to play, everything will be okay," one user tweeted sarcastically.
Another wrote, "Israel has more respect for its people and for Arab workers than you do. They don't distinguish between Arab workers and Jewish ones."
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
