BBC News ignores PA vaccination roll-out criticism

Previously we documented the BBC’s promotion throughout January and February 2021 of the political campaign exploiting the topic of Covid-19 vaccinations:

AN OVERVIEW OF BBC PROMOTION OF THE ANTI-ISRAEL VACCINES CAMPAIGN

Although BBC audiences were informed in a February 3^rd report headlined ‘Palestinians begin vaccinations after Israel provides doses’ that “[p]eople over 60 or with chronic illnesses will be the first to get vaccinated among the general public, the [Palestinian] health ministry says”, the corporation has not produced any coverage of the more recent news relating to that topic.

In response to calls from Palestinian civil society organisations for a commission of inquiry into the PA’s distribution of vaccines, the Palestinian Authority admitted on March 2^nd that priority had not been given exclusively to healthcare workers or people at risk. 

“After public pressure and calls for greater transparency, the Palestinian Authority acknowledged Tuesday that some of the few COVID-19 vaccines in its possession did not go to healthcare workers, but rather to government officials, the Jordanian royal court and the Palestinian national soccer team. […]

Among those given vaccines were security officials working in the offices of PA President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, 100 Palestinian students heading abroad to study, fieldworkers in the Central Elections Committee, PA government ministers, Palestine Liberation Organization executive committee members over the age of 65, and some foreign embassy staff in Ramallah. […]

The PA acknowledged that it also quietly transferred 200 doses to Jordan. A spokesperson for the PA government had publicly denied the report, first published in Hebrew media, at a press conference in Ramallah.

“200 doses were sent to the Jordanian royal court after they requested it and with the approval of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas,” the Health Ministry said in a statement.”

While news agencies such as Reuters and AP and outlets such as the New York Times have reported that week-old story, the BBC apparently does not consider it newsworthy and its audiences have hence seen no coverage to date.