Tuesday, the Palestinian Minister of Health, Mai al-Kaila said that the Cabinet approved to purchase 4.5 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Sputnik V vaccines.

Kaila added that the government has allocated USD 27.5 million for these doses of the vaccines, noting that they are expected to arrive in Palestine soon.

In statements to Voice of Palestine Radio, Kaila said that the high numbers of coronavirus deaths reflect the poor epidemiological situation in the country.

She indicated that there is reluctance to receive the COVID-19 vaccines in the Gaza Strip compared to the West Bank, where the percentage in the West Bank is 7.1 percent, while in Gaza it reached 2.2 percent.

On Feb. 2, Palestine began its national COVID-19 vaccination campaign.