Israel has received its first shipment of Coronavirus vaccines on Wednesday, the first of about 8 million Pfizer vaccines that the country is expected to receive, the country’s health ministry said in a statement.
A DHL cargo plane landed at Ben Gurion Airport carrying what officials said were tens of thousands of doses of Pfizer Inc. vaccines for a trial run of transportation and storage procedures.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while receiving the vaccines at the airport said “I believe in this vaccine.” He said he hoped the that the vaccine will receive the regulatory approvals “in the coming days.”
Another batch of tens of thousands of vaccines is expected to land in Israel on Thursday, according to health officials.
Overall, the country with 9 million population is expected to receive some 8 million doses of Pfizer vaccine, enough to vaccinate about 4 million people.
Israel is developing its own coronavirus vaccine and has also ordered vaccines from Moderna and AstraZeneca.
