One of the first volunteers in Israel’s newly-launched coronavirus vaccine trial says he misses his English grandad so much that it pushed him to sign up.

Human trials for the Israeli vaccine got underway this week, and number three in the queue for injections was Effi, a 26-year-old from Jerusalem, whose father made aliyah from Manchester.

“My grandfather is still in Manchester and he’s about to turn 90, but the pandemic means I haven’t seen him for months, and probably won’t make it there for his big birthday,” he told the JC.

“It’s sad — I was hoping to celebrate with him and all my cousins, but coronavirus is keeping us apart.”

His grandfather is Peter Kurer, a member of Yeshurun Hebrew Congregation in South Manchester, and a recipient of the British Empire Medal for services to Holocaust Education in the Queen’s latest Birthday Honours. His story of escaping his native Austria with the help of Quakers is well-known.

Effi, who asked that his surname is not printed, says he is motivated by the pain of people everywhere — but the harm that coronavirus is wreaking on Jewish families and communities, which he sees first-hand, prompted him to volunteer.

“As I take part in the trial, I’m hoping the vaccine helps Jewish families like mine that are unable to get together. I also hope it will enable Jewish communities to gather once again, and people from different communities to visit each other, which is an important part of Jewish life.”

He admitted that he also has a less earnest reason to hope regular travel restarts and he is able to visit the UK: to watch his beloved Manchester United play.

When he talked to the JC on Wednesday, two days after receiving his shot, Effi felt “absolutely perfect, and without any side-effects at all.” He revealed that he strategically omitted to tell his mother about the trial until after he was injected “so she wouldn’t worry”, but said that she has got used to the idea.