State ombudsman faults Defense Ministry institute for mishandling project and misleading officials on costs, timetable and ability to produce homegrown vaccine
Prof. Shmuel Shapira, former head of the Defense Ministry’s Biological Institute, calls pharma giant's vaccines 'mediocre,' says company only wanted to 'rake in billions'
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) and Defense Minister Benny Gantz (R) speak with Segev Harel, the first volunteer for trials for an experimental Israeli coronavirus vaccine, at Sheba Medical Center, November 1, 2020. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)
The man who was widely feted by politicians and the media as the first volunteer in the trials for Israel’s coronavirus vaccine revealed Wednesday that he had been given the placebo dose.
The Defense Ministry’s Institute for Biological Research is developing the vaccine, called Brilife, and in December successfully completed the first stage of testing and started the second phase, which is ongoing.