The Palestinian Authority is examining the possibility of obtaining COVID-19 vaccines from Israel, a senior PA official told The Jerusalem Post Tuesday.
PA officials have in the past few days approached the Israeli government to inquire if it would be willing to provide them with some of the vaccines it received, the official said.
“We understand that the political echelon in Israel has to decide about this matter,” the official told the Post. “Meanwhile, the World Health Organization is helping us secure vaccines from a number of companies.”
Last week, PA Ministry of Health officials said the Palestinians have not asked Israel to supply them with, nor to purchase on their behalf, vaccines against the novel coronavirus. The PA was in contact with a number of sources to obtain the vaccines, the officials said.
The first doses of vaccines are expected to arrive in the West Bank at the beginning of February, the PA Ministry of Health said. It did not say which companies would provide them.
On Tuesday, the ministry announced the death of 20 Palestinians who were infected with the coronavirus. Six of the deaths were reported in the Gaza Strip, it said.
Over the past 24 hours, 1,191 new cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the PA Ministry of Health reported.