Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday that he was negotiating with key COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers with Pfizer, Moderna on setting up production lines in Israel, to ensure a steady supply of the inoculation.
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Israel has recorded 732,040 coronavirus cases since the pandemic erupted in March 2020, including 5,423 deaths. The Health Ministry said that as of Monday, there were 55,180 active cases, with 962 patients in serious condition. So far, 670,478 Israelis have recovered from the disease.
As of Tuesday morning, 3,991,214 Israelis had received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 2,612,370 have been fully immunized with both doses.
Speaking with Channel 12 News on Monday, Netanyahu said talks were underway with both pharma giants. "I am negotiating with them to build two factories in Israel, making us a global center in the fight against COVID-19.
"The Moderna complex will be a center for filling vaccine vials, while Pfizer's will work as a research and development site for the fight against future viruses," he said.
Israel has so far only administered the Pfizer vaccine to its population, although it has a small stock of the vaccine from the American biotechnology company Moderna.
Netanyahu also revealed that he was in talks on Israel procuring tens of millions of vaccine doses for the coming years as the inoculation campaign in the country continues.
The prime minister further urges Israelis aged 50 and more to take the jab, stressing that this age group accounted for the most serious cases and fatalities.
He warned that the success of the vaccination effort in this group will largely determine whether the current lockdown – Israel's third – would be its last.
Health Minister Yuli Edelstein, echoed the call, telling Army Radio that the country was about 1 million vaccinated Israelis short of putting lockdown policy behind it.
"If everyone acts responsibly, get vaccinated and also understand that getting vaccinated doesn't mean we can forfeit observing other precautionary guidelines, we could begin easing restrictions more comprehensively."
Coronavirus Commissioner Professor Nachman Ash also called on the public to be inoculated and stressed that public conduct would determine whether a fourth lockdown would have to be imposed.
"I hope this one [the third lockdown] is our last but I'm not sure about that. It depends on how much people would observe [public health guidelines], and how gradually we open things again.
"We are very concerned about the British mutation and morbidity among children, who cannot be vaccinated. Another lockdown is a concern," he said.
Combating online misinformation
With the national vaccination drive lagging, Israel is blaming online misinformation for the sudden slowdown. Now officials are fighting back.
The Health Ministry, which is spearheading the vaccination efforts, is employing both warnings and incentives as it tries to persuade reluctant holdouts to get immunized.
It has beefed up a digital task force to counter spurious claims about the vaccines, while local governments are turning to DJs and free food to lure people to vaccination centers. Concerts and museums could soon be off-limits to the unvaccinated.
"Decide whether you are part of the celebration or whether you will be left behind," Edelstein declared on Twitter.
The reluctance of some groups in the population to get vaccinated is a key reason why infection rates remain high.
Last week, Netanyahu said the only obstacle to completing the task was "the fake news and the superstitious and sometimes malicious beliefs that are planted in the public and on the internet."
The Health Ministry has reportedly invested millions of dollars in its efforts to educate the public.
The task has been complicated because different segments of society have resisted vaccination calls for different reasons.
In the case of the ultra-Orthodox, some influential religious leaders have called on their followers not be immunized. Meanwhile, Israel's Arab minority tends to suffer from a lack of trust in the Jewish leadership. And younger Israelis often think they can't get seriously ill.
Einav Shimron, the Health Ministry's deputy director for international relations, said the ministry is working with physicians and religious leaders to counter misinformation, such as claims that the vaccine can cause infertility.
Shimron said center alerts the Justice Ministry to any misinformation, and the ministry immediately presses the social media networks to remove the false claims. "There are several times we even called the police" on grounds that the false claims are a public health risk, she said.
In the ultra-Orthodox community, where internet use is low, the response is often more low tech. Anti-vaccination rabbis have posted false claims on posters – known as pashkevils – commonly used to spread messages among the faithful. The ministry is countering with pashkevils of its own.
Rabbi Yuval Hacohen Asherov, a popular Jewish preacher with an online following who has stated that germs do not cause diseases, has posted numerous anti-vaccine videos with hundreds of thousands of views. A recent video falsely claimed the COVID-19 vaccine caused death.
The Health Ministry has asked the Justice Ministry to try to get Asherov's videos pulled from YouTube and said that he "endangers the public."
Asherov declined to comment. It was not clear if YouTube has been formally approached.
Avishai Matia, another anti-vaccine activist, said his Facebook and Twitter accounts with thousands of followers were suspended this month in what he called a "violent reaction by the technology giants in cooperation with the WHO and other groups."
Matia has wrongly claimed the Pfizer vaccine is "an experimental drug" that is being tested on Israeli citizens.
In fact, it has been granted approval for emergency use in the US and Europe. In exchange for getting sufficient quantities for its population, Israel has agreed to share data with Pfizer, though it is not conducting any experiments.
Facebook did not respond to requests for comment about its collaboration with Israeli authorities.
At the same time, authorities are devising incentives for people to get the jab. The Health and Culture ministries said Sunday that museums, libraries, concert venues and other cultural events will reopen later this month — but only to those who have been fully immunized.
The Health Ministry is also enlisting dozens of Israeli social media influencers to promote immunization in concert with its own online video campaign.
One new message released on Valentine's Day showed a man presenting his girlfriend with a small box appearing to contain an engagement ring. "Will you get vaccinated with me?" he asks, as she opens the box to find a vaccine vial.
The ultra-Orthodox town of Bnei Brak has tried to encourage immunization by serving free cholent – a traditional dish – to residents who turn up for a vaccine. A municipal spokesman said Thursday's "Operation Cholent" brought in three times the typical number of recipients.
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Holon, a Tel Aviv suburb, has enlisted the help of DJs and a party atmosphere to draw over-16s to receive immunizations. Ministry figures show Israelis between 16-30 have been vaccinated at levels far below the national average.
For many young and middle-aged Israelis, however, the availability of coronavirus vaccines has been enough of an incentive to line up.
At an immunization center in Tel Aviv, Moran Keret, 44, said that a friend convinced her to go. "The corona is not going away. So if it's not disappearing, I'm here."
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
