The Palestinian Authority on Monday received a shipment of 72,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine through the World Health Organization’s COVAX program, enabling 20% of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to be vaccinated.
To date, 121,866 Palestinians in the West Bank and 34,580 in Gaza have been vaccinated, or 3% out of a population of 5.2 million, according to the World Health Organization.
The WHO did not clarify if that number included the Israeli vaccination program for 105,000 Palestinian workers.
Israel has vaccinated 81% of its population over the age of 16. The PA, which lacks funding, has barely begun a vaccination program and has relied heavily on donations, including from Israel.
In addition, it has not successfully inoculated its population with the vaccines it does have, according to the WHO.
The PA has received 311,440 vaccine doses, of which 223,140 went to the West Bank and 83,300 to Gaza, according to WHO figures from April 15.
This includes 100,000 doses of China’s Sinopharm vaccine, 97,000 of AstraZeneca’s, 70,000 of Russia’s Sputnik, 37,440 of Pfizer’s and 2,000 of Moderna’s.
The list includes an initial March shipment from the COVAX program of 61,440 vaccine doses.
The COVAX shipment of 72,000 doses for the West Bank and Gaza on Monday was the second such shipment and brings the total of vaccines the PA has received to 383,440.
According to the WHO, the PA will receive an additional 144,000 doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine and 102,960 of Pfizer’s through the COVAX program by the end of June.
As of last week, there were 32,353 active cases of COVID-19 among Palestinians, of which 12,020 were in the West Bank and 20,333 in Gaza, the WHO reported.