Today, Tuesday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health received 500,000 doses of Moderna’s anti-Coronavirus vaccine, with a donation from the United States of America, through the Kovacs mechanism.
The Minister of Health, Dr. May Al-Kaila during a press conference, which was held in Ramallah, with the participation of the Acting Head of the Palestinian Affairs Unit, Stacey Barrios, and the Director of the World Health Organization’s office in Palestine, Dr. Richard Peppercorn, and the Special Representative of UNICEF in Palestine, Ms. Lucia Almy: Today we announce the receipt of half a million doses of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine, provided by the US government through the Kovacs mechanism, with 300,000 doses to the West Bank and 200,000 doses to the Gaza Strip.
The Minister of Health thanked the US government for this donation, and also thanked the partners in the World Health Organization and UNICEF for their exceptional efforts in facilitating the entry of this shipment into Palestine and transporting it to warehouses in Nablus and the Gaza Strip, and thanked those in charge of the Kovacs Foundation for their continuous cooperation in providing vaccines against the Corona virus. .
The Minister of Health reiterated her call to the public to take anti-Coronavirus vaccines, stressing that vaccines are available to all.
During the press conference, Stacey Barrios stressed that the United States is committed to strengthening its relationship with the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian people, a relationship based on mutual respect and a shared belief that Palestinians and Israelis alike deserve equal measures of freedom, security, opportunity, and dignity.
She expressed the pride of the United States to be able to provide the 500,000 “Moderna” vaccines, which were developed and produced in it, to the Palestinian people, with substantial assistance from the Kovacs Mechanism.
Noting that the United States provided in the West Bank and Gaza, $11 and a half million, as direct relief aid to overcome the pandemic, indicating that this funding came to health facilities in the West Bank by providing care and prevention services for Covid-19, as well as training health workers. Improving facilities to provide better patient care, and to provide needed medicines.
She said, “The United States provided equipment and support to fourteen hospitals in the West Bank to strengthen the life-saving response capabilities of COVID-19, and to ensure their ability to continue providing needed health care services to Palestinians, as this support included providing improvements to five health care facilities affiliated with the Ministry of Health.”
She added: “The United States is also supporting prevention efforts in Gaza, including reaching about 2,000 homes through mobile medical teams. These teams provide medical consultations, distribute hygiene kits and deliver important COVID-19 awareness messages.
And she continued: “The United States provided hygiene and infection prevention kits to more than four thousand and two hundred individuals to protect their families from the virus, as well as emergency aid to more than one thousand three hundred homes during the distribution of electronic vouchers in Gaza, which enabled families to purchase food and other supplies and necessary hygiene supplies. To ensure their safety and ability to manage the risk of infection.”
She praised the role of the Ministry of Health, “Kovax” and everyone who contributed to making the donation of the vaccine possible, and urged everyone to receive the vaccine as soon as possible “because it is the only way to defeat this virus.”
Barrios told Al-Quds.com, on the sidelines of the press conference, "The donation to the Palestinian Ministry of Health with these vaccines comes in order to enable the ministry to quickly access vaccines to ensure that the largest possible number of Palestinians receive vaccines, and to accelerate the ministry´s capabilities to give vaccinations to people and to encourage everyone to obtain vaccines." To save the lives of Palestinians, and to end and overcome the pandemic for all.”
And she continued, "The donation comes as a sign of the mutual partnership between the US government and the Palestinians, which is a strong and solid relationship between the two peoples."
On the other hand, Barrios said: “America has provided around the world more than 110 million doses of Corona vaccines in 60 countries around the world, as part of America’s efforts in the context of global leadership on how to overcome the Corona crisis, and we will strive in the next few months to provide more vaccines to the world, And waiting to get the supply of vaccines by working with our partners by increasing the supplies that we allocate abroad.”
During the conference, Barrios referred to what US President Joe Biden said that the United States is committed to providing emergency support to international efforts to provide a vaccine, just like those it made inside the United States.
“We are working to get as many safe and effective vaccines as possible to as many people around the world as quickly as possible,” Barrios said. “Thanks to the ingenuity of American scientists and the resilience and commitment of the American people, we are in a position to help others.”
And she continued, "We share these vaccines to save lives and put an end to the pandemic. We have allocated eighty million doses of local vaccine supplies to be distributed around the world."
Barrios stressed, “There are no political restrictions associated with these vaccines,” and said: “We share vaccines with the world and lead within a global strategy to provide vaccines because it is the right thing to do, the morally right thing, the right thing from a global health perspective, the matter right to achieve collective security and well-being.”
In a press statement, the Palestinian Affairs Unit confirmed that the United States will donate 500,000 doses of Moderna vaccine through the Kovacs mechanism, including the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), the Coalition on Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), UNICEF and the World Health Organization.
