Netanyahu to be first Israeli to take COVID-19 vaccine

JERUSALEM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said that he will be the first citizen in Israel to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

Netanyahu's remarks came upon the arrival of the first batch of 100,000 Pfizer vaccine doses.

"I am confident of the Pfizer vaccine, and I will be the first to be vaccinated, to be a role model for the rest of the public," Netanyahu said.

The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said that a cargo plane arrived from Belgium at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, with 100,000 doses on board.

The vaccines were transferred to a special warehouse which was prepared for storage.

Another batch of 500,000 doses is expected to arrive in the coming days as well as another 1 million vaccines arriving next week.

Israel has a contract with US drugmaker Pfizer to supply it with the vaccine.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat