Israel delivered its 1 millionth COVID-19 vaccination on Friday — and is the first in the world to inoculate 10 percent of its population.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was on hand for the record-setting shot in Umm el-Fahm, according to the Jerusalem Post.
“We have surpassed the whole world when it comes to vaccinations,” the prime minister said. “We are moving forward at tremendous speed.”
“It is important to me that the Arab public in Israel also vaccinate quickly,” Netanyahu continued. “This is important because it saves lives.”
The milestone comes as the US struggles with a slow rollout of its two coronavirus vaccines, with just 1 percent of the country given the first dose. In New York, once the epicenter of the pandemic, just 32 percent of doses delivered have wound up in residents’ arms.
Israel was on track to hit 1 million vaccinations after dosing 153,000 more people with Pfizer’s vaccine Thursday, according to the Jerusalem Post. That means 10 percent of its population of 9.3 million have gotten their first dose.
“So how are Israel’s 950,000 vaccinated citizens? Just yesterday we broke another record and vaccinated 153,430 people at 325 vaccination stations across the country,” Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said Friday. “On behalf of all of you, I thank the medical staff for the amazing work.”
Vaccinations in Israel began on Dec. 20, according to the Times of Israel.
The vaccine blitz won’t continue forever, however, with Israel’s health ministry announcing Thursday that it would temporarily suspend shots later this month to avoid eating through the country’s entire stockpile, according to the UK’s Telegraph.
The ministry will mostly suspend new vaccinations between Jan. 10 and Jan. 31, to ensure that they have sufficient supplies to cover second doses for those already administered the first, the report said.
Pfizer’s two-dose vaccine must be given 21 days apart.
If the current pace were to continue unabated, Israel would exhaust its supplies of the Pfizer vaccine within 10 days, The Telegraph reported, citing local media outlets.
Israel is the first country to vaccinate 10 percent of its population, according to a data analysis by Bloomberg. Second is Bahrain, which has administered 57,317 doses to 3.9 percent of its population as of Dec. 30. The UK is in third — but with just 1.4 percent given the first dose of vaccine so far.
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January 01, 2021 at 08:20PM
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Israel delivers 1M COVID-19 vaccines to 10 percent of population - New York Post
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