- Israel is offering benefits to its fully vaccinated citizens to try to encourage inoculation.
- From Sunday, those who present vaccination certificate can go to gyms, sporting events, cultural events.
- The authorities were explicit that people who avoid vaccines will be “left behind”.
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Israel has been praised worldwide for its rapid distribution of vaccines against coronavirus, surpassing all other nations.
But as the campaign ran into parts of the population that didn’t want a chance when their turn came, the authorities became tougher.
The nation is implementing a two-tier system for its reopening, with incentives and freedoms for those who receive an injection, and ostracism for those who do not.
As of this week, Israel’s goal is to vaccinate its entire eligible population by the end of March.
More than 4 million people over the age of 16, that is, two-thirds of all eligible people, received at least one dose of the vaccine, Israel’s health ministry said on February 16.
But vaccination rates fell in mid-February, leading to a tougher policy.
Starting on Sunday, within the government’s plans to leave the third blockade, hotels, a gym, shops, sporting events and cultural spaces will be inaugurated. But only for those who are fully vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19.
The scheme will feature what Israel calls the green emblem, a certificate from the Ministry of Health for those receiving both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The emblem will exist as a QR code in a government application developed by the government, according to Nachman Ash, Israel’s chief coronavirus officer. People without smartphones can print it.
Two weeks later, restaurants, event halls and conferences are also expected to open for those presenting a certificate.
The government makes no secret of the fact that this system was created to make more people receive jabs.
In comments 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 the coronavirus.
“The green passport is also our way of encouraging more and more people to get vaccinated and it is also true in its essence. Whoever is vaccinated is not dangerous ”.
Their public statements are similar.
Here is the translation of a tweet posted by Edelstein in Hebrew:
“Almost 4 million people vaccinated! Today we are going to pass 4 million vaccinees in Israel, of which 2,612,000 also received the second vaccine. We continue to increase daily vaccinations: Yesterday 156,000 were vaccinated.
“Those who are not vaccinated will be left behind. The coronavirus office confirmed our position that only vaccinated and in recovery will have a gym and leisure culture. Go get vaccinated! ”
—Yuli Edelstein 🇮🇱 יולי אדלשטיין (@YuliEdelstein) February 16, 2021
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seems to be right behind him. “Whoever does not vaccinate puts us all in danger because it can cause the health system to collapse,” Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting, the Times of Israel reported.
While traveling home on its vaccination campaign, Israel is battling a third wave of COVID-19 infections. Although the number of daily cases has been in sharp decline since mid-January, the number of cumulative deaths is still increasing, with 5,473 total deaths on Wednesday, according to Our World in Data.
Cumulative deaths from COVID-19 in Israel on February 18, 2021.
Our world in data
Reaching the March vaccination deadline is politically important for Netanyahu, who hopes to see his hand strengthened in Israel’s next election on March 23.
Yossi Mekelberg, professor of international relations and a member of the think tank Chatham Hous, explained what is at stake in an interview with Insider.
“He doesn’t want to go with high numbers in the elections, he really wants to show that the numbers are low,” he said.
So far, scientists still do not know whether a person who has been vaccinated can still spread the virus. It is also unclear whether vaccines protect against new strains of the virus that cause concern worldwide.
Dave Archard, chairman of the UK’s Nuffield Bioethics Council, told Insider in an interview that these uncertainties undermine certification programs like Israel’s.
“The whole point of the vaccine certificate is to show that the carrier, as it has been vaccinated, will not transmit COVID-19 or its variants. At the moment, the evidence is not there, ”he said.
Archard said there is a danger of putting too much emphasis on the vaccine at risk of people forgetting other public health measures, such as social detachment.
Israel has launched a series of initiatives to encourage people to get vaccinated, such as offering free food with vaccines, vaccination on forest trails and in bars and companies that offer incentives for employees to get the vaccine.
Here, a video shows how the Israeli Ministry of Health distributes free pizza:
In Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, authorities offered chulent, a traditional Jewish stew, to stimulate vaccination among the ultra-Orthodox community. This particular group suspects the country’s mass vaccination campaign, the Wall Street Journal reported.
On February 1, thousands gathered to mark the funerals of two famous rabbis who died of coronavirus, regardless of the distance requirements.
Bnei Brak also saw protests against the blockade, where stones were thrown at the police.
Israel is considering a series of stricter measures to increase pressure on those who refuse vaccines.
The government is planning a bill to require workers who are highly exposed to the public to receive a vaccine or take a COVID-19 test every two days, the Times of Israel said.
According to Israeli media Hareetz, another separate plan could have the Ministry of Education named after teachers and students who have been vaccinated. That information can be given to school leaders in the event of an outbreak to identify those most at risk, the media said.
The government also spoke harsh words, in particular to teachers who refuse vaccination.
Here is another tweet translated by Edelstein, the Minister of Health, who mentions the proposal to require vaccination:
“A teacher who does not get vaccinated disregards the safety of students and abuses his office. A law has been enacted that will make it possible to compel public sector workers who have not been vaccinated to have a coronavirus test every two days ”.
“I will not compromise public safety. We are also increasing the rate of vaccinations again: 3,907,000 were vaccinated, 2.2 million are entitled to the green label. Yesterday we vaccinated 142,000. Run to get vaccinated!”
—Yuli Edelstein 🇮🇱 יולי אדלשטיין (@YuliEdelstein) February 15, 2021
(Despite his confident claim, until Thursday the mandatory vaccination law was still under discussion, according to the New York Times.)
The health ministry is also considering a proposal for legislation to release the names of people who have not been vaccinated to local authorities.
Israel has already been criticized for its approach to data privacy during the pandemic. Last year, Netanyahu and his cabinet approved measures to allow Shin Bet, the country’s internal security service, to use people’s cell phones to make sure they were respecting the quarantine.
On January 25, Facebook deleted a post and suspended a chatbot on Netanyahu’s Facebook page after realizing that the chatbot was asking followers to share information about friends and family over 60.
The Israeli vaccination campaign appeared to be running out of steam in February.
In January, 150,000 people were receiving their first dose of the vaccine every day. In February, although the vaccination campaign was extended to those aged 16 to 35, only 60,000 people were receiving their first injection a day, the Guardian reported on Monday.
After the announcement that certain sites would be open only to vaccinees, the Times of Israel said vaccination rates are rising, suggesting that the aggressive policy may be working.
Israel’s war on vaccine refusal also involves a robust response to disinformation, a problem that nations around the world face.
On Monday, the Ministry of Health announced a new project, which Hareetz described as a “fake news war room”.
Hareetz reported how a dozen employees scour social media and major news outlets from dawn to midnight, signaling posts for deletion in conjunction with the companies hosting them.
“We have to fight on social media, in addition to disseminating information through various channels,” Einav Shimron, deputy director of the Ministry of Health’s information department, told Hareetz.
However, the government’s persuasive and technological powers are not total.
Ran Bar-Zik, a cybersecurity expert, noted on Facebook on Tuesday that the digital certificate was too easy to fake, according to the Times of Israel.
100,000 people have joined a group offering certificate forgery on the Telegram messaging platform, according to an investigation of Channel 12 in Hebrew, reported by the Times of Israel.
“Counterfeiters can also end up in prison,” Edelstein, the health minister, told a news conference on Thursday, but it is unclear how the authorities will identify them.
Talia Lakritz contributed to the reporting of this article.