The first shipment of Pfizer’s antiviral COVID-19 pill arrived at Ben Gurion Airport on Thursday afternoon, following Israel's purchase of some 100,000 doses earlier this week.
The pharma giant and the Health Ministry signed off on the purchase of the drug - marketed under the brand name Paxlovid - following talks between Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
"Thanks to our rapid reaction, the drugs arrived in Israel quickly to help us best the encroaching Omicron wave,” said Bennett shortly after the drug’s arrival.
"Pfizer's drug, which now arrived in Israel, among the first countries in the world, is an important addition to our toolbox fighting the pandemic.”
“Just as we were pioneers in administering the third and fourth jabs, so will we be the first to give the drug to the people of Israel,” added the prime minister.
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Pfizer's anti-COVID Paxlovid pills arriving at Ben Gurion Airport
(Photo: Moti Kimchi)
The antiviral pill - which will be available free of charge to Israelis in high-risk groups - was given emergency authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, after it was shown to be nearly 90% effective in preventing hospitalizations and deaths in patients at high risk of developing severe illness from COVID.
The drug was also found to be effective against the Omicron variant.
The drug itself is to be taken with the appearance of COVID symptoms.
COVID patients belonging to a risk group will receive a referral from a doctor who will give them a prescription for the drug, which will then be sent to the patient's home.
Israel is also expected to receive thousands of units of Merck’s Molnupiravir oral antiviral drug within the following few weeks, which was also granted emergency authorization by the FDA.