RAMALLAH – The Palestinian Authority's decision to divert some of its tiny stockpile of coronavirus vaccines to senior officials, soccer players and others has sparked controversy, feeding into long-standing concerns about corruption as it struggles to respond to a worsening outbreak.
The PA has repeatedly said that its first vaccines would go to medical workers and elderly patients, who are at greatest risk of severe illness or death.
But to date it has only acquired enough doses to inoculate 6,000 people in a population of nearly 5 million. “We have focused from the beginning on health workers, but there are around 100,000" in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, Health Minister Mai Alkaila told reporters on Tuesday. “It’s not enough.” The