Israel to Discuss Vaccination Policy

On Wednesday, a panel of experts and officials belonging to different health organizations and ministries of the Israeli government will gather together for a meeting. In the meeting, they will plan the coronavirus vaccination policy of the country. This discussion will be held in light of Israel receiving their first batch of vaccine. The number of doses that can be procured is still unknown. 

The committee set up for special coronavirus oversight gathered on Tuesday at the parliament of Israel, the Knesset. They decided to have an urgent session to talk about the coming vaccination policy. 

Yoel Razvosov, the lawmaker of the centrist Yesh Atid party, met up with officials from the Health Ministry. He said that businesses are facing an uncertain situation. They are wondering whether they should declare bankruptcy or continue operating, as people’s lives hang in the balance. 

In his opinion, the coronavirus vaccine can determine the fate of the people. He speculated that it may be days, weeks, or perhaps several months before the country is able to get their hands on a vaccine. 

According to the ministry, the government will be provided with a specific blueprint regarding all the awaited vaccine candidates. In the coming weeks, the panel itself will be presenting these blueprints. Meanwhile, the members of the panel have been tasked with suggesting strategies for the storage and distribution of the vaccine. Moreover, they have been told to think about the legal and ethical questions. 

A spokesperson of the Ministry revealed that once the panel presents its suggestions and conclusions to the government, the general public will also be told about them. 

The head of the Covid-19 issues in the technological department of the ministry, Dr. Uri Feinstein, gave his testimony too. He addressed the committee and told them that his team is working tirelessly to ensure that everything is ready on time. He added that they all want to make sure that the country of Israel is not responsible for delaying this current operation. 

He also explained how this will not be a simple or easy process. Feinstein said that there are no specifications in history that would indicate how they should go about with a vaccination policy for a pandemic. He continued that it is the aim of the ministry to ensure that the vaccine is made available to anyone and everyone in the country, as soon as possible.

The head assured the people that though the relevant authorities will try their best to accommodate everyone, the vaccine may not be available immediately. However, he expressed that this is exactly what they hope to achieve.

Feinstein added that vaccines all over the world are being developed at a head-spinning and unprecedented pace. 

Just two weeks ago, Pfizer, a US-based pharmaceutical company, declared that its vaccine had passed phase 3 trials and showed an effectiveness of more than 90%. A week after Pfizer, Moderna Inc announced that its vaccine candidate had shown an efficacy of nearly 95%.