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Report: Israel is studying Russia’s coronavirus vaccine claim, health minister says

“If we are convinced that this is a serious product, then we will also try to enter negotiations,” says Israeli Health Minister Yuli Edelstein.

Israeli Health Minister Yuli Edelstein speaks during a press conference on the country's COVID-19 situation, at the Health Ministry in Jerusalem on June 28, 2020. Photo by Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90.
Israeli Health Minister Yuli Edelstein speaks during a press conference on the country’s COVID-19 situation, at the Health Ministry in Jerusalem on June 28, 2020. Photo by Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90.

Israeli Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said on Tuesday that Israel is studying Russia’s claim to have developed a coronavirus vaccine.

“We have already scheduled meetings over the vaccine in Russia. If we are convinced that this is a serious product, then we will also try to enter negotiations,” said Edelstein, according to Ynet. Edelstein added that in any event, a vaccine reaching the Israeli public is still far off.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that the Russian Health Ministry had approved the world’s first COVID-19 vaccine, produced by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Moscow.

The vaccine was approved after less than two months of human trials, but Putin claimed his daughter had already taken it, the BBC reported. The report also said that experts are worried that Russia could have rushed to approve the vaccine without adequate testing.

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