Netanyahu: Israel in talks with Pfizer over potential COVID-19 vaccine

A banner from the Pfizer Pharmaceutical Company of Puurs, visible from the highway, lets motorists know that the company is hiring staff on 10 November 2020 in Puurs, Belgium [Jean-Christophe Guillaume/Getty Images]

Israel is in talks with drugmaker Pfizer Inc over its potential COVID-19 vaccine, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, although it has not signed any deals yet, Reuters reports.

Pfizer said on Monday that its experimental COVID-19 vaccine was more than 90% effective, a major victory in the fight against a pandemic that has killed more than a million people, battered the global economy and upended daily life.

Numerous countries have signed deals with the company already to receive millions of doses of its candidate vaccine.

Netanyahu said in a statement that he had spoken with the company’s Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla.

“After this conversation, which was very practical and to the point, I am convinced that we will complete the contract with Pfizer,” said Netanyahu.

Israel already has an agreement with Moderna Inc for the future purchase of its potential vaccine and has been in talks with other companies as well. It has also started human trials on its own vaccine candidate.

READ: New coronavirus vaccine by drug company founded by Turkish immigrants to Germany

Unless otherwise stated in the article above, this work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. If the image(s) bear our credit, this license also applies to them. What does that mean? For other permissions, please contact us.