A vial of Moderna Inc. Covid-19 vaccine.
Photographer: Kobi Wolf / Bloomberg
Photographer: Kobi Wolf / Bloomberg
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While countries around the world tour for coronavirus vaccines, Israel has so many vaccines that it is maintaining its Supply of Moderna Inc. on hold.
And it is doing so under fire for not inoculating the millions of Palestinians under its control.
The supply of vaccines has exceeded the demand of the world’s largest per capita inoculator, which has contracted to receive millions of doses from Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE in exchange for extensive data on the vaccine’s launch in the country. People under 50 are less anxious than their older compatriots to line up for an injection, so the rate of vaccination has slowed, with 40% of the country’s 9.3 million inhabitants having received the first inoculation.
A box containing vials of the Modern Covid-19 vaccine inside a medical center in Bethlehem, West Bank, on February 7.
Photographer: Kobi Wolf / Bloomberg
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Thanks to Pfizer’s constant shipments, much of Moderna’s single delivery, totaling around 100,000 doses, remains in cold storage, according to Eli Gilad, a senior Ministry of Health employee who works with the coronavirus.
“The quantity of Moderna in Israel is very small” and there is no point in putting another vaccine in circulation when the country is using millions of doses of Pfizer, said Gilad.
Moderna’s supply – which was delivered in January and could remain in storage for six months – will eventually be used and there was no change in expected shipments, Gilad said. Guidelines for vaccine use have not been published, said Avi Levin, who manages the Tel Aviv vaccine complex for the largest health care provider, Clalit Health Services.
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Israel is also postponing receipt of the distributed supply through a program supported by the World Health Organization, an Israeli official said on condition of anonymity to discuss the vaccine strategy.
Two thousand doses of Moderna were transferred to the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority to inoculate medical workers, with an additional 3,000 planned. But for the most part, Israel is rejecting calls to provide vaccines for Palestinians.
A Palestinian nurse administers a dose of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine to a health professional at a medical center in Bethlehem, West Bank.
Photographer: Kobi Wolf / Bloomberg
Some officials and advocacy groups say Israel has a responsibility or interest in inoculating the millions of Palestinians under its control.
“The argument that you cannot give to the Palestinians is no longer supported,” said Zvi Bentwich, board member of Physicians for Human Rights – Israel. The unused doses of Moderna, he said, “reinforce that argument.”
But even a program to vaccinate Palestinians working in Israel has yet to be launched, according to Israeli Deputy Health Minister Yoav Kisch.
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Although Moderna and Pfizer use similar technology and demonstrate nearly identical results, there are slight differences. The interval between Pfizer injections is three weeks, compared to four for Moderna, and Moderna’s vaccine is easier to store and transport, while Pfizer’s vaccine requires ultra-low temperatures.
Small discrepancies should not prevent Israel from using Moderna, said Eli Waxman, a physicist who leads a team that advises Israel’s national security council.
“The most important thing is to get as many vaccines as we can – Moderna, Pfizer – and vaccinate people,” said Waxman. “I believe that they would be able to handle such a modification without much difficulty.”
– With the help of Naomi Kresge