Israeli, Danish and Austrian leaders discuss cooperation in combating the epidemic

Vaccine production plant in Israel, green passport and self-tests for Covid-19: Israel is about to embark on a program to establish a vaccine production plant in Israel in cooperation with the governments of Denmark and Austria. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who led the move with Danish Prime Minister Mitt Frederiksen, held working meetings on the matter with her and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz during the two leaders’ visit to Israel. Sources close to the talks told Globus that the decision to work with Israel on establishing a vaccine production line was taken after the European Union stumbled over the vaccination program, and Denmark decided to try to achieve “vaccine independence”, in line with Netanyahu’s desire to achieve national security in dealing with a pandemic. Coronavirus, and breaking the dependence on other countries and on foreign production plants, in cooperation with the private sector. Here, the Danish CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) enters the picture as a factor in the talks between Netanyahu and Fredricksen. Globes learned that Teva could be the private sector entity that will produce vaccines for Israel, Denmark and possibly other countries as well. While the Danish media have mentioned Schultz as someone who has influence over the talks between Israel and Denmark, sources in Israel say the intention is to conduct a tender with the participation of companies and countries wishing to participate in the construction of the plant. In today’s meetings between Netanyahu and European leaders, the possibility was discussed that the proposed plant would not only produce vaccines against the Coronavirus, but would later produce vaccines against other diseases, as required. While the intention at the moment is to set up a factory in Israel, Frederiksen, unlike Curtis, is interested in setting up a factory on the same terms in her country as well. Informed sources say that the advantage of a factory in Israel is that, unlike Denmark, the European Union cannot influence production and distribution decisions. Discussed in today’s talks is the possibility of creating a common database of vaccines to help research vaccine efficacy. Another potential area of ​​cooperation discussed was the green passport which certifies that its holder has either been vaccinated against Covid-19 or has contracted the disease and has recovered. At their request, Netanyahu visited a fitness club with the two leaders. The club has reopened according to the rules of the green passport, and they will examine the possibility of replicating this form in their own countries. The idea of ​​an international green passport was also discussed, which would allow vaccinated people to obtain automatic recognition of their status in other countries. RELATED ARTICLES Leaders of Denmark and Austria ignore the European Union’s visit to Israel to vaccinate. Another point of discussion that might affect the education system if there was another wave of the coronavirus pandemic was the self-test, an idea put forward by the Austrians. Israeli sources told “Globus” that as long as it is still impossible to vaccinate young children, Israel is studying the possibility of conducting a kind of home self-test that would enable educational institutions to operate with minimal risks. In the staff meetings held today between the professional representatives of the three countries, Israel was represented by Health Minister Yuli Edelstein, Chairman of the National Security Council Meir Ben Shabat, Acting Finance Ministry Director General Tzachi Braverman, and the Ministry of Finance. Hezi Levy, Director General of Health. Braverman heads a ministerial team that, over the past year, examined the possibility of establishing a vaccine production plant in Israel. The vaccination summit held in Israel followed talks at the Forum of Leading Countries in the Fight Against COVID-19, which was held under the auspices of the Austrian Chancellor since last April. Israel described the main objective of the meeting as “preparing for future epidemics and for developing vaccines within a short period of time for all countries.” Posted by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on March 4, 2021 © Copyright Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2021