Palestinians begin vaccinations, 10,000 doses arrived on Thursday

A Palestinian health worker holds a vial of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine provided by Israel during vaccination in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on February 3, 2021. (Photo: Mosab Shawer/APA Images)

The Latest:

  • 182,071 Palestinians tested positive for COVID-19; 171,162 recoveries; 2,055 deaths
  • Of Palestinians who tested positive, 109,332 live in the West Bank; 20,512 live in East Jerusalem; 52,227 live in Gaza
  • 680,856 Israelis tested positive for COVID-19; 591,052 recoveries; 5,020 deaths

The West Bank begins vaccinating Palestinians

On Tuesday, Palestinians healthcare workers in the West Bank were able to get their first jab of the coronavirus vaccine after 2,000 doses of the Moderna arrived, weeks after officials said they would begin their national campaign. 

While Palestinian leaders did not acknowledge where the vaccines came from, our correspondent Yumna Patel reported they were transferred from Israel. Defense Minister Benny Gantz confirmed Israel had made the deal with Ramallah to disburse 5,000 does, enough for 2,500 people.

Patel found the shipment followed previous reports that Israel has already transferred over doses, though not confirmed by any official source:

“Last month the PA denied receiving a shipment of dozens’ of COVID-19 vaccines from Israel, following reports from Israel’s Kan news broadcaster that the vaccines were delivered after the PA made a request for ‘special humanitarian cases.’

While the PA called the reports ‘groundless rumors,’ it did lead to some speculation that the government had received some amount of vaccine doses and secretly distributed them to government officials.”

On Thursday, a delayed shipment of 10,000 doses of Russia’s Sputnik V were also delivered to the West Bank. 

Palestinian doctors receive the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at the Hugo Chavez Hospital in the West Bank city of Ramallah on February 2, 2021. (Photo: Palestinian Minister of Health Office)

Palestinian doctors receive the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at the Hugo Chavez Hospital in the West Bank city of Ramallah on February 2, 2021. (Photo: Palestinian Minister of Health Office)

The Palestinian Minister of Health Dr. Mai Al-Kaila said this week that she secured doses of Oxford’s AstraZeneca vaccine, which now claims an efficacy rate of 82% after both shots, according to the WHO’s latest situation report. As we previously reported in this newsletter, the Palestinian Authority is seeking around 2 million doses from AstraZeneca. Al-Kaila also said vaccines would be transferred to Gaza and a total of 3.2 million people would be vaccinated under the Palestinian national plan. 

A further one million doses, going in the arms of  older Palestinians and those with pre-existing conditions, will be provided by the GAVI Alliance/COVAX. Palestinians applied in January to receive vaccines in the first wave of distribution. Gavi is handling the cost of vaccines for 20% of the population of more than 90 countries and territories. The program expects to purchase vaccines from multiple companies. The first wave of 37,440 doses that will arrive in Ramallah under this program are the Pfizer vaccines. They are due to reach the West Bank next week. 

The second shipment, which could be up to 405,500 doses of AstraZeneca, will also arrive later this month. 

At the same time, the spread of COVID-19 continues to slow in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. The positivity rate has declined for a third week in a row, to 8.4% in Gaza. Almost one month ago, the positivity rate for a similar number of laboratory tests was around 40%.  

Palestinian children carry pots as they wait to receive free meals of green pea stew from donors, in Gaza City on February 4, 2021. (Photo: Ashraf Amra/APA Images)

Palestinian children carry pots as they wait to receive free meals of green pea stew from donors, in Gaza City on February 4, 2021. (Photo: Ashraf Amra/APA Images)

Maccabi: Pfizer around 91% efficacy

The first major study on the efficacy rate of the Pfizer vaccine distributed to around 3 million Israelis was released this week by the Israeli healthcare provider Maccabi, finding the efficacy rate at 91% a week after the second jab, slightly lower than clinical trials. 

The Jerusalem Post reports,

“Among the 254 people who contracted the virus, 76 of them were infected after seven days, 44 on the eight day, and 24 on the ninth day. Between day 22 and 24 – when the test period ended – no one was infected”

That’s it for now, we’ll see you next week.

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