American biotech company Moderna says Israel has approved its COVID-19 vaccine, but the announcement comes as the country faces a rapidly growing outbreak of the disease.
Moderna said in a statement Tuesday that the Israeli Health Ministry authorized use of the company's vaccine and that it would begin delivering this month the 6 million doses secured by Israel.
Israel's Health Ministry reported 8,308 new confirmed cases of coronavirus on Tuesday one of the highest daily tallies since the beginning of the pandemic as the country struggles to contain the pandemic during a third national lockdown.
Israel has recorded over 450,000 cases of coronavirus and 3,445 deaths. At the same time, Israel has already vaccinated over 10 per cent of its population, primarily the elderly and healthcare workers.