A medical worker prepares a dose of Oxford / AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine in a vaccination center in Antwerp, Belgium, 18 March 2021. REUTERS / Yves Herman
Israel no longer wants the AstraZeneca (AZN.L) COVID-19 vaccine and is investigating with the company whether a large load in the pipeline could be sent elsewhere, the Israeli pandemic coordinator said on Wednesday.
“We are trying to find the best solution. After all, we do not want (the vaccines) to come here and throw it in the trash,” official Nachman Ash told Army Radio, saying Israel’s needs were met. to become. met by other providers.
In his remarks, Ash made no reference to the vaccination of AstraZeneca associated with very rare blood clots in Europe. Many countries there have started administering it again after the European Union’s drug watchdog said that benefits outweigh risks.
Israel tossed a wide network last year as it tried to secure vaccine doses at the height of the pandemic, and was pre-ordered from a number of companies.
It largely decided on the Pfizer (PFE.N) / BioNTech (22UAy.DE) vaccine and launched one of the world’s fastest implementations. COVID-19 infections in Israel have dropped dramatically and the economy is open again.
Israel also buys the COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna (MRNA.O), which uses a similar messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. read more
Ash said Israel, with safe supplies until 2022, no longer needed the 10 million doses it had agreed to buy from AstraZeneca.
“They can definitely be used elsewhere in the world. At the moment, we are trying to work with the company to find the best way to do that,” he said.
“We believe it would be best if they (the vaccines) do not come to Israel and we agree with the company on a way to divert it elsewhere.”
AstraZeneca officials did not immediately comment.
About 81% of Israeli citizens or residents over the age of 16 – the age group eligible for the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine in Israel – received both doses.
Some 167,000 of the 5.2 million Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Islamic Gaza run by Hamas had at least one dose of vaccine, with supplies coming in from Israel, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, the global COVAX. vaccination sub-program and China. .
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