Israel says it will sign deal for Pfizer coronavirus vaccine

Israel will sign a provisional deal with Pfizer Inc on Friday to receive 8 million doses of the drugmaker's still-experimental coronavirus vaccine as of January, the Israeli health minister said.

The deal, implementation of which would be subject to approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Israel's Health Ministry, would provide vaccines for close to half of the Israeli population, Minister Yuli Edelstein said.

"The supply would begin in January 2021, with the remainder arriving throughout the course of 2021," he said in a statement on Thursday, adding that the order would be for 8 million doses, enough for 4 million people.

There was no immediate comment from Pfizer, which on Monday announced that its experimental COVID-19 vaccine had been more than 90% effective based on initial trial results, a major victory in the war against a virus that has killed over a million people and battered the world's economy.