Now the Israeli government is taking action again in the fight against Corona …
Because of the high number of infections, the Israeli government is increasing the pressure on people who have been vaccinated twice: From Sunday, the so-called green passport, which facilitates access to public life, is only valid for up to six months after the second vaccination. Afterwards, those affected must receive a third injection as a booster.
Even those who tested positive for Corona must receive a vaccination no later than six months afterwards. According to figures from the Ministry of Health, the new regulation could affect more than a million people.
The Green Pass is valid for almost all areas of public life in Israel: All persons aged three and over must prove that they have been vaccinated, recovered or tested negative if they want to attend sports or cultural events, fitness studios, museums, restaurants, universities or conferences . Children up to the age of twelve can be tested free of charge. From the age of twelve you have to pay the costs yourself.
According to the Ministry of Health, around 61 percent of the 9.4 million inhabitants have been vaccinated twice, around 37 percent three times. The prerequisite for the third injection is that the second vaccination was at least five months ago.
At the end of July, Israel became the first country in the world to start giving third vaccinations. The background to the decision are figures from the Ministry of Health, according to which the effectiveness of the vaccination has declined sharply since the beginning of June.
Sharp criticism of the new regulation came from the Israeli teachers’ association. Starting this Sunday, teachers without the Green Pass who do not want to be tested for the corona virus will be exempt from teaching. The teachers are then not allowed to teach online and receive no salary. “It’s about 50 percent of teachers, that’s around 80,000,” said Ran Eres, chairman of the teachers’ association.
The association is demanding a two-month transition period for teachers to receive the third vaccination. Eres criticized the government had communicated the new requirements too quickly. Regular testing is also not practical for the teachers. The association reserves the right to challenge the regulation in court.
At the beginning of September, Israel registered the highest number of new infections per day since the start of the pandemic, at more than 11,000. Since then, the number of infections has been slowly falling. However, experts are still warning of the health system being overloaded by unvaccinated, seriously ill corona patients. According to the Ministry of Health, the vast majority of the recently around 600 seriously ill patients are unvaccinated.