Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein on Monday touted the country's signing of a deal with US pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and Moderna for 18 million more doses of their highly successful coronavirus vaccines for 2022.
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Moderna and Pfizer respectively will each supply nine million doses, while Moderna is still to provide 6 million more doses acquired in the first deal.
Israel and Pfizer also agreed on the option to purchase millions of additional doses if needed. The vaccines purchased and signed for will be tailored to stand up against variants.
"We will very shortly have more than enough vaccines for both adults and children," Netanyahu explained. "Israel is again leading the world in the battle against the coronavirus. There will be no more lockdowns; we have finished with those," he added.
"I spoke with my friends the CEOs of Pfizer and Moderna over the past few days. There were a few obstacles in Israel that we needed to overcome, and we found a way to overcome them," Netanyahu said.
Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said in a statement: "I'm happy that despite the unnecessary political difficulties, we reached an agreement with Pfizer. Israel is exiting the pandemic because of the vaccines; Israel will continue leading the fight against the coronavirus in the future as well. I thank the citizens of Israel for their remarkable response to the vaccination campaign, and call on all those who have yet to vaccinate to do so as soon as possible."
It is important to note that anyone who has already received two doses of the vaccine, with the first jab being a booster, will only require one dose in the future rather than two.
With about 81% of citizens or residents over having received both doses, infections and hospitalizations are down sharply in the country.
The Health Ministry reported on Monday that 141 new cases had been confirmed over the previous 24 hours.
There are at least 2,270 active cases of the disease in the country, including 193 in serious condition and 114 on artificial respirators.
The death toll from COVID-19 in Israel currently stands at 6,338.
The latest figures also showed that the positivity rate for screening tests fell to 0.4%.
On Sunday, the government lifted the country's mask mandate in outdoor spaces, requiring facial protection only for indoor events and crowded spaces.
"The masks are intended to protect us from the coronavirus," Edelstein said in a statement. "The level of morbidity in Israel is very low thanks to our successful vaccination campaign, and thus we can ease up further restrictions for you, citizens of Israel. I ask you to still carry a mask in order to enter closed buildings. Together we will keep the morbidity low."
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