Israel received its first batch of Pfizer coronavirus vaccines on Wednesday morning, a day ahead of schedule. The charter United Airlines flight, organized by the international courier company DHL, flew from Brussels with the initial delivery of between 3,000 to 4,000 vaccine doses. Hundreds of thousands of additional doses are scheduled to arrive on Thursday, and another million doses are scheduled to be delivered next week. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu‏‏ and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein were at Ben-Gurion Airport to receive the shipment. Netanyahu spoke at a brief ceremony and said he would be the first in Israel to be vaccinated. “We brought the vaccines to Israel!” Netanyahu later wrote on Twitter. “I intend to be the first in Israel to be vaccinated in order to set an example for all Israeli citizens.” The vaccines were transported to Teva’s national vaccine storage and distribution center in the southern Negev. The facility is equipped with special freezers for the vaccines, which require storage at -70°C (-94°F). The vaccines must be used within five days of removal from cold storage. The US Food and Drug Administration, yet to approve the Pfizer vaccines, is reviewing its trial data on Wednesday. Israeli health officials are expected to approve the vaccines following FDA approval. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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