Netanyahu: In talks to establish Moderna, Pfizer vaccine plants in Israel

Israel is in talks with the two leading coronavirus vaccine manufacturers, Pfizer and Moderna, to open up plants in Israel, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In an interview with Channel 12 news on Monday night, the prime minister said that he had spoken to the CEOs of both companies.

“I am negotiating with them to build two plants in Israel that will turn Israel into an international center in the fight against coronavirus,” Netanyahu said.

He explained that the Moderna factory would focus on “filling the small vaccine vials,” while Pfizer’s plant would serve as a “research and development site for the fight against future viruses.”

He also revealed that he was negotiating with the companies to provide Israel with tens of millions more vaccines to ensure the country had enough supply to provide an expected needed booster shot to citizens each  year.  

“I want to be in a situation where the Right, the Left, Arabs, Jews … I want them all to get vaccinated [now], and I want to ensure they have the vaccines they require in the future,” Netanyahu told Channel 12.

— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) February 15, 2021

 

Israel was among the first countries in the world to close contracts with these vaccine companies. In June, well before Moderna had completed the development of its coronavirus vaccine, Israel agreed to purchase two million doses. Later, the country signed an expanded supply agreement to receive an additional four million doses.

The country originally purchased eight million doses of the Pfizer vaccine through an agreement signed with the company in November. Last month, the company committed to supplying Israel with enough vaccines to inoculate any citizen who wants the jab in exchange for data on the campaign’s effectiveness on infection rates in Israel.

As of late Monday night, Israel had vaccinated 3.9 Israelis with at least the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Some 2.6 million Israelis had received both shots.

Both Pfizer and Moderna are run by prominent Jewish scientists with whom the prime minister has established a personal relationship. Moderna’s Chief Medical Officer Tal Zaks is a native Israeli. Pfizer’s CEO Albert Bourla was raised in Greece by his Sephardic Jewish parents who survived the Holocaust.