Israel has received the first batch of Pfizer vaccine and is preparing for mass vaccination. With the arrival of the first transport, the logistics of sending and storing the vaccine will be tested.
On December 9, 2020, a DHL cargo plane carried approximately 4.000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine. The aircraft took off from Brussels airport and landed at Ben Gurion International Airport.
After the first flight, which was to test logistics, more than 10.000 doses were transported on December 10, 2020. The Israeli pharmaceutical company Teva will store the doses under the conditions recommended by the manufacturer.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein were at Ben Gurion Airport to receive the transport of vaccines.
The Israeli government hopes to entice citizens to get vaccinated, providing various incentives. The vaccinated person may be exempted from quarantine after a trip abroad or after having had direct contact with a person confirmed with COVID-19.
Netanyahu said Israel had reached an agreement with Pfizer to buy 8 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine, enough to vaccinate 4 million people, according to Bloomberg.
The United Kingdom was the first country to authorize the BioNTech / Pfizer vaccine on December 2, 2020. On 8 December 2020, the UK began the mass vaccination process.