Israel does not currently intend to follow new US guidelines that relax the requirements for wearing a mask for people who have been fully vaccinated, Kan’s public broadcaster reports.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced new guidelines Monday, saying that fully vaccinated Americans can congregate indoors with other vaccinated individuals without wearing a mask or social distance.
The recommendations also say that vaccinated can be treated in the same way with people who consider a low risk for serious diseases, as in the case of vaccinated grandparents who visit healthy children and grandchildren.
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However, senior Israeli health officials told Kan that Israel would not yet advocate similar steps, saying there was still not enough information on whether vaccinated people could still transmit the virus.
Kan called the Israeli approach “very strict”, with clear evidence that the vaccines dramatically reduce infections.
The issue is likely to come up in a few weeks during the Passover holiday, when families traditionally gather for large, festive Cedar meals. Last year’s holiday was celebrated under Israel’s first – and strictest – coronavirus shutdown, with many seniors being forced to celebrate alone.
Channel 12 News reports, without naming a source, that Ministry of Health officials have begun discussing whether it can bring families together more easily.
Health Minister Yuli Edelstein told Channel 12 on Sunday he hopes families can celebrate Passover at the end of the month.
‘I really hope we can be with the whole family … I’m hopeful, and it’s a hope with a good foundation … with proper behavior [by the public], we will be able to avoid more connections. I really ask everyone to help us with this, ‘Edelstein said.
Perahia Shilo arranges the Passover dinner table next to a photo of her children and grandchildren on the eve of the Jewish Passover in the settlement of Ephrath on April 8, 2020. (Gershon Elinson / Flash90)
The CDC has issued its guidelines to address a growing demand as more adults are vaccinated and wonder if it offers greater freedom to visit family members, travel or do other things they did before the COVID-19 pandemic overwhelmed the world. last year.
“We know that people want to be vaccinated so that they can do the things they enjoy again with the people they love,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, said in a statement.
The CDC goes on to recommend that people who have been fully vaccinated continue to wear well-fitted masks, avoid large gatherings, and physically distance themselves from others when in public. The CDC also advised vaccinated people to be tested if they develop COVID-19-related symptoms.
Officials say a person is vaccinated as fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the last required dose. About 30 million Americans – or only about nine percent of the U.S. population – have so far been fully vaccinated with a federally authorized COVID-19 vaccine, according to the CDC.
In Israel, the percentage is much higher. Israel on Monday vaccinated its five millionth citizen against the coronavirus because Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu predicted that the entire adult population would be vaccinated by the end of April.
Granby Nursery School Teacher Christina Kibby (right) receives the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine from pharmacist Madeline Acquilano at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut, March 3, 2021. (AP Photo / Jessica Hill)
Of the five million who now had the first dose of vaccine, 3,789,118 also had the second, according to figures released Monday. I
Since the onset of the coronavirus outbreak early last year, 803,260 people have been diagnosed with the virus and there are 37,698 active patients.
Of Israel’s total population of 9.3 million, about three million, including children who recovered, were not initially vaccinated. Israel announced last week that it would begin giving a single shot to the story.
The prime minister also said Monday he was in contact with Pfizer and the company will soon release a vaccine approved for use on children.
