by A.P.
The ceremonial injection took place at the Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv on Saturday, with Netanyahu sticking to his earlier promise and becoming the first person in the country to be vaccinated against Covid-19.
The PM was administered a shot of the immunization jointly developed by US pharma giant Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech. Israel, which plans to begin the vaccination of the general public next week, has so far received 300,000 doses of the inoculation, but expects to be have acquired 3.8 million doses by the end of December.
“A small injection for a man and a giant step for the health of us all,” the PM said, rephrasing the iconic words spoken by the first man to set foot on the Moon, US astronaut Neil Armstrong. After receiving the jab, the Israeli leader said he was feeling “terrific.”
In launching the vaccination campaign, Israel was “leaving the darkness of the coronavirus” and setting off on a journey to “a great light,” Netanyahu said, as cited by the Times of Israel. The PM has faced harsh criticism and large-scale protests over his handling of the Covid-19 outbreak.
