Moderna official: Israel to be amongst first countries to receive vaccine

(INN) A senior official at the Moderna pharmaceutical company said Israel would be one of the first nations worldwide to receive its vaccine for the coronavirus after the company announced that the vaccine was effective in 94.5% of cases, Channel 12 News reported.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has vowed to bring the Moderna vaccine to Israel as well as other vaccines which are developed to combat the coronavirus.

“Already in June I, along with Health Minister Yuli Edelstein, instructed that an agreement be signed with Moderna for the supply of vaccines. Today, Moderna informed us that its vaccine has an efficacy of 94.5%. This is excellent news for the State of Israel,” Netanyahu said.

“My goal is to bring as many vaccines as possible, from as many sources as possible, to as many citizens as possible – and as soon as possible,” the prime minister added.

US-based pharmaceutical giant Moderna claimed earlier Monday that its coronavirus vaccine is 94.5% effective against the coronavirus – a claim which, if confirmed, would make the vaccine more effective than a vaccine developed by rival company Pfizer.

“These are obviously very exciting results,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, according to CNN. “It’s just as good as it gets — 94.5% is truly outstanding.”