Palestinians get 100,000 vaccine doses from China

Palestinians get 100,000 vaccine doses from China

RAMALLAH: Palestinians on Monday received 100, 000 doses of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine donated by China to help broaden an initial campaign to vaccinate medical staff, the elderly and the chronically ill. Palestinian health authorities have been mounting a limited vaccination drive among the 5. 2 million people living in the Israel-occupied West Bank and Gaza, using vaccines provided by Israel, Russia, the UAE and the global COVAX vaccine-sharing initiative. So far, more than 69, 000 Palestinians have received their first dose of the vaccine, and around 7, 600 people have had both shots, according to a health ministry statement. Israel has come under international criticism for not doing more to enable Palestinians living in areas it occupies to be inoculated, while its national vaccination drive has been one of the fastest and most efficient in the world. It says it has vaccinated more than 100, 000 Palestinian workers with permits to enter the country or Jewish settlements in the West Bank but that the Palestinian Authority bears overall responsibility for inoculations in self-rule areas. After the arrival of the Chinese shipment, Palestinian Health Minister Mai Al-Kaila said in the West Bank city of Ramallah that recent restrictions such as curfews