The Government of Israel has reportedly signed a new agreement to purchase 10 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by the Oxford University. This new announcement was jointly made in a statement by the pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca, who is producing the vaccine, and the Israeli government.

Once approved by the regulatory authorities, the first supply of the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine is projected to arrive in the country during the first half of next year. With the AstraZeneca vaccine being a two dose vaccine, this order of supply would cover half the country’s population at least.

The country has already signed supply contracts with Moderna and Pfizer for their vaccines. It is also in talks with Russia for Sputnik V. However, the agreement with AstraZeneca is reportedly Israel’s biggest, with newest clinical trial outcomes showing a robust immune response among older people.

The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu stated that he wants the vaccines to be made readily available to every citizen in the nation. Addressing the multiple vaccine deals, he stated that the government would rather there be an abundance of options than a scarcity of vaccines.

Netanyahu further added that the government is looking to get more vaccines for the most number of individuals from as many sources as possible.

Chief Executive Officer of AstraZeneca Israel, Ohad Goldberg, called the agreement as a historic one that was led by the pharmaceutical company's regional representation that would provide vaccine to millions of people across the country.

Meanwhile, Israel is also working on developing its own vaccine that might get ready by the end of this summer. According to latest figures, there have been about 329,403 coronavirus cases in Israel with a total of 2,806 deaths, of which seven were reported yesterday. The country has 8,456 active cases while 318,141 have recovered from this rapidly spreading virus.

Source credit: https://www.thejc.com/news/israel/israel-announces-deal-for-10-million-doses-of-oxford-s-covid-vaccine-1.508913