04/19/2021 3:28 PM
Clarín.com
World
Updated 04/19/2021 3:28 PM
Israel has signed an agreement
to buy millions of additional doses of
coronavirus vaccine by 2022, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein announced as reported by
The Jerusalem Post
sources
.
In addition, Israel and Pfizer agreed on the option to purchase millions of additional doses if necessary.
Purchased and signed vaccines
will be tailored to resist variants.
The signed agreement should ensure that Israel can continue to manage the coronavirus pandemic
until at least the end of 2022
, according to the announcement.
"In the last few days, I have spoken again with my friends, the CEOs of Pfizer and Moderna," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video message.
“There were some obstacles in Israel that we had to overcome
, and we found a way to overcome them.
On the coast of Tel Aviv, without chinstraps.
AFP photo
"If there are no surprises in the form of coronavirus variants that vaccines do not overcome, then we have signed up to purchase millions of additional vaccines with Pfizer."
He said he also hopes to have an extended contract with Moderna in the near future.
Since December
, almost five million Israelis (53% of the population)
received the two doses of the vaccine, that is, 80% of the population over 20 years of age, according to official data from the country, where they were reported. some 836,000 cases of covid-19 and more than 6,300 deaths.
In January, Israel registered
a peak of 10,000 daily cases
despite the vaccination campaign, as the effects of the immunizer do not begin to be felt until a few weeks after the injection.
From that moment, the curve began to bend, so the authorities allowed the reopening of bars, restaurants and cafes in early March.
In recent days, the country
has only registered about 200 cases a day.
Without chinstraps
The vaccination - one of the fastest in the world - greatly reduced infections, deaths and hospitalized in serious condition.
It also led to a gradual reopening that has culminated
in the return to almost complete normality
on the streets of the country.
Israelis are no longer subject to major restrictions
, and yesterday they were able to remove the masks in the open air after a year of mandatory use to contain the pandemic.
However, these are still required indoors, and Health recommends taking them also in large meetings or crowded areas outdoors.
Inside the transport it is obligatory its use but outside, in
the open air, no longer
.
Eliana Gamulka, blonde and blue-eyed, gets off the bus and
ties her yellow mask to her right wrist
.
A simple gesture but one that had been illegal for a year.
"On the bus I wore the mask, most of the people wore it, and then I took it off [...] I'm relieved, we can live again," says Eliana, a 26-year-old project manager, happy because the Measure has gone into effect two weeks before your wedding.
"We can all celebrate it without a mask and the photos will be beautiful!".
The bad part, Eliana jokes, is that "you can no longer pretend that you don't know someone on the street."
Other passengers, on the other hand,
prefer to keep the mask
on when leaving the bus, or leave it at the level of the chin to be able to quickly put it on when entering a store.
Ester Malka, "used" to wearing a mask, prefers to wait before taking it off in the middle of the street.
"I'm still scared
... We'll see what happens when everyone has removed their mask. If I see that everything is fine in a month or two, then I'll take it off," explains the clerk.
The country was able to take this step, on Thursday night, thanks to an intense vaccination campaign, facilitated by an agreement signed between the state and the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.
In exchange for quick access to millions of doses of the vaccine, Israel provided Pfizer with real data on the effect of vaccination.
In Israel, the population's medical data is digitized.
Source: EFE and AFP
PB
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Pfizer announced delivery of 100 million more doses of COVID vaccines to the European Union
