PM: Israel to Consider Establishing COVID-19 Vaccine Production Plant

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will ask the government to approve a resolution to establish a team to consider the establishment of a coronavirus vaccine plant in Israel, the Prime Minister’s Office announced on Friday.

“We work around the clock in a variety of ways to protect the health of Israeli citizens,” Bennett said. “The ability to self-produce vaccines in Israel could be dramatic, especially with a forward-looking view of future epidemics. Professional teams will examine this and make a decision soon.”

The team would be headed by the accountant general of the Finance Ministry and would conduct an orderly procedure and consult with relevant professionals, in order to formulate the best way to establish the plant, the announcement said.

If established, the plan would be required to produce medicinal preparations, giving priority to the production of vaccines continuously for regular commercial marketing. At the same time, the plant would have the ability to adapt its activities to the production of vaccines during emergencies and preferably to production of vaccines using a number of different technologies.