Saturday, the Palestinian Minister of Health Mai Al-Kaila announced that Palestine is set to receive 150,000 COVID-19 vaccines in its first batch of vaccines.

While she did not mention which vaccine Palestinians will receive, she did mention that the ministry is in touch with pharmaceutical companies Sputnik V., Moderna and AstraZeneca, and that the possibility of obtaining the Pfizer vaccine has been struck due to its storage requirements.

She said that the World Health Organization's COVAX initiative, which helps poorer countries obtain vaccines, will cover 20 percent of the population, and that the government will finance enough vaccines for 50 percent of the people of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The priority will be for medical staff, security services and members of the media, she added.

Additionally, she announced that National Hospital in Nablus will be fully dedicated to treating COVID-19 patients.

All the hospital’s other internal medicine specialties, clinics, and emergency departments have been transferred to Rafidia Hospital.