Yuli Edelstein, the Israeli Minister of Health, said on Sunday that the country's mass COVID-19 vaccination programme may begin earlier than the proposed December 27 start date.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously stated that Israel will begin vaccinating up to 60,000 people a day from December 27. However, during a visit to an inoculation centre established by the Maccabi health fund group on Sunday, Edelstein said that vaccinations may begin sooner.
"I have seen the advanced preparations here. Vaccinations may start earlier, may be we can start vaccinating medical teams from next week," Edelstein told reporters.
Earlier this week, the first doses of a vaccine against COVID-19 produced by the US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German firm BioNTech arrived in Israel. In total, the Israeli government has signed a deal for 8 million doses of the vaccine, which is already being used in the United Kingdom.
Israel has also concluded deals with other manufacturers, including the US firm Moderna, for other candidate vaccines. On November 1, clinical trials for Israel's domestically produced vaccine against the coronavirus disease began.
Since the start of the pandemic, over 356,000 positive tests for COVID-19 have been registered in Israel, resulting in the deaths of 2,990 people. (/Sputnik)
( With inputs from ANI )
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