PA to begin vaccination drive in mid-February

The Palestinians will receive a first batch of 50,000 coronavirus vaccines by mid-February, when they will launch inoculations in the West Bank and Gaza, the Palestinian Authority prime minister says.

Speaking ahead of a Palestinian Authority weekly cabinet meeting, Mohammed Shtayyeh says the procurement had been secured through various sources, including the UN-backed Covax program set up to provide vaccines to less wealthy states.

“Vaccination will start in the middle of this month,” Shtayyeh says.

The prime minister says the vaccines will be allocated to the 2.8 million Palestinians in the West Bank and the two million people in the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the Hamas terror movement.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.