Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu welcomed the arrival of some 700,000 additional doses of the coronavirus vaccine to Israel Sunday afternoon, holding a press conference on the tarmac of Ben Gurion International Airport.
"This is a huge day for the State of Israel, with a huge shipment on the plane... full of additional vaccines," said Netanyahu.
"Today, more than 72% of people over the age of 60 and over have been vaccinated. We're going to finish that," the prime minister added, saying that Israel is hoping to vaccinate the entire elderly population by the end of March.
"Then we'll start with the next age cohort, people over 50. Fifty to 60."
"The Health Minister and have decided to increase the number of vaccines per day to 175,000. That's a world record."
"World leaders are always calling me, expressing their amazement at our accomplishment."
"Israel will be the first country to get out of this pandemic."
Netanyahu announced that an additional shipment is expected next Sunday.