Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that the government is looking into purchasing the Pfizer coronavirus pill after it was announced that the drug is nearly 90% effective in preventing hospitalization and death from the coronavirus.
"It is possible that there is good news in the form of a medicine for the treatment of the coronavirus. Already this weekend, I asked our system to study in depth the subject of the new medicine, and to examine procurement for the State of Israel," Bennett said at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday.
"If the drug is approved for use, it will be another significant tool in the management of the epidemic, along with vaccines for everyone and accessible tests, for everyone, all the time."
Hebrew media reported Saturday night that Israel was not yet in talks to purchase the new treatment from Pfizer, which was already in talks with 90 other nations seeking to purchase the pill.
According to a press release by Pfizer Friday afternoon, the experimental pill demonstrated up to 89% effectiveness in curbing hospitalizations or death among high-risk patients.
Israel and Pfizer have had a good working relationship since Israel became one of the first countries to receive large quantities of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine and the first country to launch a successful large-scale vaccination drive. In the summer Israel began a campaign to provide booster shots of the Pfizer vaccine to millions of its citizens.
The Health Ministry stated that it would be in contact with Pfizer "soon" to begin talks on procuring the new treatment,
Israel has been in talks with the Merck pharmaceutical company to procure its coronavirus pill, with reduces the rate of hospitalization and death from the disease by half.