- Israel offers benefits to its fully vaccinated citizens to try to encourage vaccination.
- Those who can show a certificate of vaccination can go to gyms, sporting events, cultural events from Sunday.
- Officials have said that people who avoid vaccines will be ‘left behind’.
- Visit the Insider Business Department for more stories.
Israel is praised worldwide for its rapid introduction of coronavirus vaccines that surpass all other countries.
But, as the campaign rallied against sections of the population who did not want to shoot in turn, officials became harsher.
The nation is implementing a two-tier system for its reopening, with incentives and freedoms for those who get a jab, and ostracism for those who do not.
As of this week, Israel’s goal is to vaccinate its entire population by the end of March.
More than 4 million people over the age of 16, two-thirds of all eligible, received at least one dose of the vaccine, the health ministry said on February 16.
But vaccination rates fell in mid-February, resulting in tougher policies.
From Sunday, hotels, gyms, shops, sporting events and cultural venues will open as part of the government’s plan to leave its third exclusion. But only for those who have been fully vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19.
The scheme will depend on what Israel calls its green badge, a Ministry of Health certificate for those who receive both doses of COVID-19 vaccine.
According to Badman Ash, Israel’s leading coronavirus official, the badge will exist as a QR code on a government program developed by the government. People without smartphones may rather express it.
Two weeks later, restaurants, events, and conferences should be open to those who can show a certificate.
The government makes no secret of the fact that this system is meant to make more people sting.
In a report reported by The Jerusalem Post, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said at a meeting of ministers: “The people of Israel are being vaccinated! And this is the way to fight coronavirus.
“The green passport is also our way of encouraging more and more people to be vaccinated and also true in its essence. Those who are vaccinated are not dangerous.”
His public statements are similar.
Here is a translation of a tweet that Edelstein posted in Hebrew:
“At the point of 4 million vaccinated! Today we pass 4 million vaccinated in Israel, of which 2 612 000 also received the second vaccine. We continue to increase the daily vaccinations: Yesterday 156 000 were vaccinated.
“Those who are not vaccinated will be left behind. The coronavirus cabinet has reaffirmed our position that only vaccinated and recovering people will enjoy gyms and leisure culture. Go get vaccinated!”
—Yuli Edelstein 🇮🇱 July Edelstein (@YuliEdelstein) 16 February 2021
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to be right after him. “Whoever does not vaccinate puts us all at risk because it could cause the health care system to collapse,” Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting at the Times of Israel.
While Israel is driving its vaccine, it is fighting a third wave of COVID-19 infections. Although the number of daily cases has been declining sharply since mid-January, the number of cumulative deaths continues to rise, with 5,473 total deaths on Wednesday, according to Our World in Data.
COVID-19 cumulative deaths in Israel on 18 February 2021.
Our world in data
Meeting the vaccination deadline for March is politically important for Netanyahu, who hopes to strengthen his hand in Israel’s upcoming March 23 election.
Yossi Mekelberg, a professor of international relations and a fellow for the think tank Chatham Hous, explained the importance of an interview with Insider.
“He does not want to go to the polls with a high number, he really wants to show that the numbers are lower,” he said.
To date, scientists do not know if someone who has been vaccinated can still spread the virus. It is also not clear whether the vaccines are protected against new strains of the virus that are circulating around the world.
Dave Archard, chairman of the British Nuffield Council on Bioethics, said in an interview with Insider that these uncertainties undermine certificate programs such as those of Israel.
“The whole point of the vaccination certificate is to show that its holder, based on vaccination, will not transmit COVID-19 or its variants. At the moment, the evidence is not yet available,” he said.
Archard said there is a danger that people will forget too many other health measures such as social distance to place too much emphasis on the vaccine.
Israel has launched a number of initiatives to encourage people to be vaccinated, such as offering free food with the shots, giving vaccinations on forest trails and bars, and businesses offering incentives to employees to get the chance.
Here is a video showing how the Israeli Ministry of Health distributes free pizza:
In Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, officials offered chulent, a traditional Jewish stew, to encourage vaccination among the ultra-Orthodox community. This group in particular was suspicious of the country’s mass vaccination campaign, reports the Wall Street Journal.
On February 1, thousands gathered to celebrate the funerals of two famous rabbis who died of the coronavirus, with little regard for the required distance.
Bnei Brak also saw protests against the closure where stones were thrown at police.
Israel is considering a number of stricter measures to increase pressure on those who refuse vaccines.
The Times believes the government is considering a bill to require workers who are highly exposed to the public to take a vaccine or take a COVID-19 test.
According to the Israeli newspaper Hareetz, another, separate plan could get the Ministry of Education the names of vaccinated teachers and students. The information can be given to school leaders in case of an outbreak to identify those who are most at risk.
The government has had particularly harsh words for teachers who refuse vaccination.
Here is another translated tweet by Health Minister Edelstein mentioning the required vaccination proposal:
“A teacher who is not vaccinated disregards the safety of students and abuses his office.” A law has been introduced that will make it possible for workers in public institutions who have not yet been vaccinated to take a coronavirus test every two days. “
“I will not compromise on public safety. We also want to increase the vaccination rate again: 3,907,000 have been vaccinated, 2.2 million are entitled to the green label. Yesterday we vaccinated 142,000. Start getting vaccinated!”
—Yuli Edelstein 🇮🇱 July Edelstein (@YuliEdelstein) 15 February 2021
(Despite his confident statement, the mandatory vaccination law was still under discussion from Thursday, according to the New York Times.)
The Ministry of Health is also considering proposing legislation to disclose the names of those who have not yet been vaccinated to local authorities.
Israel came under fire earlier for its approach to data privacy during the pandemic. Last year, Netanyahu and his cabinet approved measures to enable Shin Bet, the country’s home security service, to use people’s cellphones to make sure they respect the quarantine.
On January 25, Facebook deleted a message and suspended a chatbot on Netanyahu’s Facebook page after he noticed that the chatbot was asking followers to share information about friends and family over the age of 60.
The Israeli vaccination campaign appears to be losing steam in February.
In January, 150,000 people received their first dose of vaccine every day. In February, although the vaccination campaign was extended to those between the ages of 16-35, only 60,000 people received their first shot a day, the Guardian reported Monday.
After announcing that certain venues are only open to those who are being vaccinated, the Times of Israel said that vaccination rates are increasing, suggesting that aggressive policies may work.
Israel’s war on vaccine rejection also involves a strong response to misinformation, a problem facing countries around the world.
The Ministry of Health on Monday announced a new project, which Hareetz described as a ‘fake news war room’.
Hareetz reported how a dozen employees search on social media and mainstream newspapers from dawn to midnight, and it is marked for removal in collaboration with companies that offer them.
“We need to fight on social media, as well as to spread information through diverse channels,” Health Department Deputy Director Einav Shimron told Hareetz.
However, the government’s persuasive and technological powers are not total.
Cyber security expert Ran Bar-Zik remarked on Facebook on Tuesday that the digital certificate was very easy to fake, according to the Times of Israel.
According to an investigation from the Hebrew Channel 12 news reported by Times of Israel, 100,000 people joined a group that forged the certificate on the messaging platform Telegram.
“Counterfeiters could also end up in jail,” Health Minister Edelstein told a news conference on Thursday, but it was unclear how officials would spot them.
Talia Lakritz contributed reporting to this article.