Last Updated on August 6, 2021 11:02 am by Editor
According to the Jerusalem Post, 80,000 doses of the Pfizer corona virus vaccine purchased by the Israeli government for 1.8 million dollars were dumped on 31 July because they had reached their expiration date.
This action comes against a back drop of a decrease in the effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine announced by the Israel Government on Monday May 05 and reported by Reuters news agency.
Reuters had suggested that the decline “coincided with the spread of the Delta variant and the end of social distancing restrictions in Israel”.
The first case in Israel, a female, was confirmed on 21 February 2020. She was diagnosed after being quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
In May 2021, the Times of Israel reported that in November 2020, Israel had contracted to purchase ten million vaccine units of the AstraZeneca vaccine while it was still in its trial phase. However, the Israeli government later decided to use the more expensive Pfizer and Moderna versions.
Booster Dose
In the meantime, on Sunday 01 August, the country started offering a third or booster dose of the Pfizer vaccine for citizens 60 years and over, most of whom had received the Pfizer vaccine back in January 2021.
Israel has become the first country to begin providing citizens with a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine according to DW News.
Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and current Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett were the first to receive the Pfizer booster dose.
According to Our World in Data, Israel’s national vaccination rate now stands at about 63 percent. At July 30 Barbados’ rate for first dose stood at about 35% and for a second dose, 27%.
Oral Vaccine Coming
Meanwhile, Israeli scientists continue work on an oral corona virus vaccine. According to the Jerusalem Post, MigVax, the Israeli company working on the vaccine, has reported that its vaccine performed well on rats and it hopes to have the vaccine ready as a booster dose for people within the next year.
Oramed, the American-Israeli company that is actually producing the oral version of the vaccine, expects to do its first clinical trials in August this year.
The vaccine is being tested in conjunction with the Food and Drug Administration, the agency that approves pharmaceuticals in the USA.
A survey carried out in the USA in April this year found that 70% of those interviewed would prefer an oral covid-19 vaccine. The poll was conducted by Quadrant Strategies and commissioned by Vaxart, Inc. According to its website www.vaxart.com, the mission of the company is “the promotion of global health through the development of effective vaccines that can be administered by tablet rather than by injection”.
Existing Drugs to Cure Covid-19?
In the meantime, Israeli scientists are reporting that there are about 18 existing drugs that can treat, if not “cure”, covid-19. This was contained in a report by the Jerusalem Post on 21 July. Two of the drugs named are “Darapladib, used for the treatment of atherosclerosis, and Flumatinib, used for the treatment of certain blood cancers” the article stated.
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Israeli is one of the world’s leading scientific innovators, if not the leading innovator, having given the world drip irrigation, the iron dome (a missile defense system) and water form thin air, among other innovations.
Although the work of the researchers at Hebrew University of Jerusalem on the oral vaccine is still at a prepublication stage, this is good news for a covid-19 weary world battling with vaccine hesitancy and mandatory vaccination. You can read the full article here.
