Palestinians to receive Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine on Thursday, minister says

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Feb 4 (Reuters) – The Palestinians will receive on Thursday 10,000 doses of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine to help jumpstart their inoculation campaign, officials said.

Palestinian Health Minister Mai Alkaila told Voice of Palestine Radio the supply would be enough to vaccinate 5,000 people, who would each be given two shots.

She added that a shipment of vaccines from China would also be arriving, but did not specify a date or which vaccine. A batch of around 37,000 doses from the COVAX global vaccine-sharing programme is expected later this month.

The West Bank, where 3.1 million Palestinians live, has reported 101,508 coronavirus cases, with 1,276 deaths. Gaza, with a population of two million, has registered more than 52,000 cases with 527 deaths. (Reporting by Ali Sawafta in Ramallah Editing by Ari Rabinovitch)