Israel secured a multimillion deal on a coronavirus vaccine reportedly worth $66 million, but Channel 12 reports that the nation risks ending up with no cure for the infectious disease that has killed more than 600,000 people across the world, as the country is lacking syringes used to inject vaccines.
Israeli media reports say other countries took care of this issue. The United States, which has been hit the hardest by the disease, bought 50 million syringes, while the European Union, another epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, said it would need about a billion needles and syringes to vaccinate the continent.
Israel, however, has not bought enough means to inject the vaccine, Channel 12 reported, citing an anonymous official "with knowledge of the details".
"The Health Ministry has been warned by private bodies that there is a need to buy syringes. Due to the global race to a vaccine, there is real doubt regarding the ability to produce and supply syringes on time if no purchase is done ahead of time", the source told Channel 12.
Israel’s Health Ministry has not commented on the issue and did not reveal the details of its deal. Reports say the vaccine will be supplied in small bottles, with each vial containing ten doses.
Israel has a relatively small number of coronavirus cases (more than 50,000) and an even smaller death toll from the disease compared with other countries in the region. The country, however, has seen a recent spike in cases since authorities lifted safety restrictions, with 1,900 new infections recorded Saturday.
