Moscow, Israel has signed a deal with South Korea to ship 700,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine that are soon to expire to get the same amount of shots back later in the fall, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said.

"According to the agreement, Israel will immediately transfer approximately 700,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to South Korea for the vaccination of its citizens by the end of July. In exchange, South Korea will return the same quantity of vaccines to Israel from a future order in September-October 2021," the statement read.

Noting that the vaccine swap agreement is the first of its kind, the Israeli prime minister called it a "win-win deal."

Over 15.3 million people have already received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in South Korea and over 5 million two doses, however, this number mostly comprises medical personnel, the elder generation, soldiers, teachers and diplomats. Vaccinations for residents aged 20-50 are yet to begin.

By September, the country aims to vaccinate 36 million of its 52 million population and achieve herd immunity by November.

South Korea authorized the use of Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna and Janssen vaccines for people over 18.

(Agencies)