Israel, Denmark, and Austria agreed on Thursday to create a joint COVID-19 vaccine research and development (R&D) fund, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th March, 2021) Israel, Denmark, and Austria agreed on Thursday to create a joint COVID-19 vaccine research and development (R&D) fund, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
"We are going to do a joint R&D fund and discuss the possibility of joint investment in production of facilities for vaccines. I think this is great news, and I think it reflects the respect we have for each other and the belief, the confidence that we have in working together to protect the health of our peoples," Netanyahu said at a press conference alongside Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
The Austrian chancellor clarified that the agreement will see Israel, Denmark, and Austria collaborate to fund the research and production of COVID-19 vaccines.
"Today we agreed on two issues. First, to set up a joint research and development foundation to support innovative projects, and second, we decide to jointly invest in production plants in Europe and Israel to enhance vaccine supply," Kurz remarked.
Speaking on Tuesday, Kurz said that the European Union's COVID-19 vaccine deployment has been "too slow," and the bloc has faced criticism as its vaccine rollout has lagged behind Israel, where 90 percent of residents aged 50 or over have reportedly been vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19.
According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, more than 34.6 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered across the bloc, which has a population of roughly 440 million people.
