Israel to ship COVID vaccines to US for diplomatic staff

Pfizer shots will be sent to New York, where emissaries and their families will be vaccinated; another shipment already planned for second doses

Israel is preparing to send doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to the United States in order to vaccinate Israeli emissaries in the country, the health and foreign ministries said in a joint statement Sunday.

According to the plan, the vaccine doses will be sent to New York, where Israeli staff from the country’s Washington embassy and eight consulates will go to receive the shots.

The plan includes vaccinating about 500 people overall: embassy and consulate staff, and their family members. Israel plans to send a second shipment of doses three weeks later.

The decision is part of a larger policy, initiated by Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, to vaccinate all Israeli representatives abroad.

Israel has so far vaccinated emissaries to different countries and areas in Africa, Europe, Eurasia, India, and the Middle East, but those representatives came to Israel to receive the shots. The New York plan, if successful, could be implemented in other countries and territories, the statement said.