Private Israeli firms tried selling Covid vaccines to foreign countries

Alleged jabs for sale did not come from national stock; companies won’t reveal their source.

By World Israel News Staff

A Ministry of Health probe has determined that two Israeli firms that allegedly tried to sell millions of doses of Pfizer’s Covid vaccine to foreign governments did not obtain any jabs from the national stock.

According to Yediot Aharonot, the U.S.-based Pfizer pharmaceutical company filed a complaint with the Ministry of Health in April after learning its vaccines were being offered to other countries. Israel’s contract with Pfizer prohibits such sales, and the ministry launched an inquiry to determine if the vaccines in question had come from the national stock or elsewhere.

The two companies probed by the ministry were More Than Security and CDD, both security firms.

According to Yediot‘s sources, CDD, which is headed by entrepreneur Adam Schuster, reportedly offered 30 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to the governments of France and the Netherlands. The Herzliya-based MTS allegedly offered to sell Switzerland three million doses of the Pfizer vaccine in March through an unspecified private Swiss company.

Yediot reported that “Schuster initially denied that an inquiry had been made into his company, but after being confronted with evidence that representatives of the Health Ministry visited his home, admitted to the meeting, which he said lasted only a few minutes. ‘People from the Health Ministry went as they came after realizing that this was a complete mistake.'”

MTS said in a statement, “MTS is a leading company in project management and emergency management. The company has examined the possibility of cooperating with a private Swiss company regarding the supply of vaccines in Europe, subject to Pfizer’s distribution policy through an authorized distributor on their behalf,” said the company in a statement.

In response to its probe, a ministry document said, “The Israeli companies did not want to provide the source of the vaccines they allegedly have, but said they were not part of the vaccine stock of Israel,” and concluded it found no indication of illegal activity.

In January, Israel paid a premium for millions of doses of the Pfizer vaccine, allowing it to launch a rapid vaccination campaign. Israel’s digital health care system has allowed the health officials to closely track the success of the campaign and share critical data with Pfizer. More than 5.1 million Israelis — 57 percent of the population — are fully vaccinated.

The number of active cases of Covid in Israel is currently 231 of which 25 are reported serious. Globally, the virus is responsible for more than 3.8 million deaths.