By: GPO
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Health Minister Yuli Edelstein on Sunday attended an appreciation ceremony for health system personnel and partner agencies for their contribution to the fight against the coronavirus. Joining them at the Jerusalem Theater was Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz as well as Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla who addressed the ceremony by videoconference.
“Israel’s victory was achieved thanks to two basic elements: The millions of vaccines that we brought to the country and their rapid distribution to the citizens of Israel. This morning we also began vaccinating young people aged 12-16. This is huge news; it promises us herd immunity,” said Netanyahu.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz also remarked on Israel’s successful COVID-19 campaign by saying, “I would like to thank you, Bibi, for our good cooperation in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. It was you who first alerted me about the massive danger of the coronavirus at the beginning of last year. Following your warnings, we took hard measures very early in Austria last year, which helped us to get through the first wave quite effectively.
I would also like to thank you for our good cooperation within the First Movers Group on COVID-19 management. It has been very helpful to exchange best practices in this group and to learn from each other on what measures worked best in the fight against the pandemic.
As I told you many times, I have been very impressed with the efficiency of your vaccination campaign in Israel. You are so well advanced that you have been able to lift almost all COVID-related restrictions by now. In Austria, we have made good progress as well, and we are also now opening up our society.
With a view to the future waves, I would like to enhance the cooperation on research and development and vaccine production with Israel and Denmark, as discussed during the visit together with Mette Frederiksen in Jerusalem at the beginning of March. Thank you again. I really appreciate our cooperation and partnership, and best wishes to Israel.”
Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla said: “COVID-19 has been one of the most challenging and devastating health crises the world has ever faced. But now, thanks to the work and dedication of so many brilliant scientists in the bio-pharmaceutical industry, we have many breakthrough vaccines and treatments that allow us to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
As many life science companies in the world, Pfizer has collaborated with many governments around the world to fight this pandemic, but nowhere has this collaboration been more effective than in Israel.
Israel has done the most amazing job in mobilizing their healthcare system and delivering the most successful vaccination campaign in the world. I was always impressed by the high standards of Israel’s healthcare system and the high quality of Israel’s medical staff, doctors, nurses and other professionals.
During my discussions with the Israeli government, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convinced me that Israel would be the ideal place to demonstrate to the world what a fast vaccination campaign can achieve.
But what Israel was able to eventually achieve exceeded all my expectations. To date, 57% of the Israeli population has been fully vaccinated. And recently published real-world data from Israel suggests that in its first 120 days, the country’s vaccination program with our vaccine prevented approximately 159,000 infections, 25,000 hospitalizations and 5,500 deaths.
While obviously caution should be used in extrapolating to other countries, these observational findings are demonstrating to the entire world the impact that a well-run vaccination campaign can have in reducing human pain. Israel should be very proud of being the leader nation in the world in the fight against COVID, and Pfizer is very proud for our contribution to your achievements.
I want to congratulate the prime minister, the minister of health, the scientists we partnered with in the country, the healthcare providers who have been administering the vaccine and the entire nation of Israel for executing such an effective vaccination program. Your efforts are helping show the world that science can win the battle against COVID-19. Thank you.” (GPO)
