Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Monday morning that Israelis may need to get vaccinated twice this year due to mutated virus variants and the fact that it’s still unknown how long the effect of the Pfizer vaccine lasts.

“We may need to get vaccinated twice in one year, so we’re in talks with Pfizer and Moderna for the establishment of a vaccine factory in Israel,” Netanyahu said in an interview with Army Radio.

“We’re negotiating with Pfizer and Moderna to sign an agreement to purchase vaccines which are effective against the new variants. If we need to vaccinate every citizen in Israel twice a year, we’ll need a total of 36 million vaccines.”

“We’re preparing for the possibility of renewing the Green Passport system every six months. We don’t know exactly how long the vaccines last. It says six months, it could be longer but we have to be prepared for the less optimistic option.”

Netanyahu added that if he’s re-elected as prime minister, his “primary mission will be to bring 36 million more vaccines over the next year.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)