Privacy concerns mar Israeli deal with Pfizer
Some Israelis are worried that the agreement with Pfizer prioritizing Israel in its vaccine distribution involves the provision of personal information to the company.
Israel’s Ministry of Health recently signed an agreement on collecting epidemiological data with coronavirus vaccine maker Pfizer. According to the agreement, Israel will provide statistical information and epidemiological data about the impact of the COVID-19 vaccine on Israelis who received it to allow the company to assess its efficiency. In exchange for this information, Pfizer promised to give Israel preference over other countries in obtaining the vaccine and that it would provide enough vaccines to vaccinate the entire adult population.
There have been complaints about a lack of transparency around the agreement. They were especially concerned about the transfer of medical information pertaining to Israelis who were vaccinated that could allegedly be given to Pfizer without the patients’ consent. People wondered how Pfizer would use this information and if there was any risk that personal information about people receiving the vaccine would be revealed to the company. They asked how the government planned to ensure that privacy would not be violated, particularly when it comes to medical issues.
In response to these concerns, the Health Ministry announced that only general epidemiological information would be given to Pfizer and that this information was already available to anyone who wanted it. However, if that is the case, why would Pfizer sign an agreement obligating it to give preferential treatment to a relatively small country like Israel?
The publication led the nongovernmental organization Movement for Quality Government in Israel to demand that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense and Justice Minister Benny Gantz, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein and the Privacy Protection Authority release the details of the agreement with Pfizer. Early this week, the Health Ministry posted the text of the agreement to its website — but parts were blacked out, including sections concerning violations of the agreement’s terms and means of resolving disputes between Pfizer and the State of Israel.
