[News] In Israel, only those vaccinated against COVID-19 will access gyms, concerts or restaurants

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So far four million Israelis have been vaccinated (45% of the po[CENSORED]tion); the country that has no vaccine supply problems.

"If you are vaccinated, you can enter!" Israel, a world leader in vaccination against covid-19, launched a controversial "badge" project so that only vaccinated people can access gyms, concerts and restaurants.

In recent days, the ministerial cabinet announced a schedule to bring the country out of its third confinement since the beginning of the pandemic through an intense vaccination campaign, which turns Israel into a small “world laboratory”.

So far four million Israelis have been vaccinated (45% of the po[CENSORED]tion), of which 2.6 million received the second dose, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Health. This is the highest vaccination rate in the world.

The country's main health mutual, Clalit, published a study on 1.2 million people in which it concludes that the vaccine from Pfizer / BioNTech - the companies with which Israel has an agreement to exchange biomedical data - has an efficacy of the 94%.

With an effective vaccine and a high percentage of the vaccinated po[CENSORED]tion, the authorities plan to gradually reopen gyms, museums, shopping centers, restaurants and cafes starting Sunday.

But not to everyone. The government announced a system of "badges", purple for those who are not vaccinated or have only received one dose and green for those who have received their second injection or are "recovered" from covid-19.

 

Green and purple
Shopping malls, libraries, museums, cafes and some places of worship will open in "purple", that is, for everyone.

And gyms, sporting and cultural events, restaurants (with reservation) will be open to holders of the "green badge", that is, to those with a double vaccination or recovery certificate.

"We are advancing in a responsible lack of refinement in the form of 'If you are vaccinated, you can enter,'" Defense Minister Benny Gantz said of this measure, which could be difficult to apply in companies.

In addition to the "badges", Israelis who have received the two doses will also be able to receive a "green passport" that allows them to enter the country after a trip abroad without having to serve quarantine, but on condition that they have a test COVID-19 negative.

 

"Delicate balance"
Early in the pandemic, intelligence services had resorted to counter-terrorism measures to locate people who had been in contact with others who had contracted COVID-19, causing controversy and prompting politicians to slow down the initiative.

This time, the government encourages people to get vaccinated, but it also wants to find a "delicate balance" between public health and respect for individual freedoms, Hagai Levine, a professor and researcher in public health at the Hebrew University, told AFP. of Jerusalem.

“In Israel, everyone [over 16 years of age] can get vaccinated for free (...) and I think you have to get vaccinated. But it is also a right not to want to do it and in this sense the government cannot force anyone, ”he says.

The covid "badge" and "passport" appear as authorities try to encourage vaccination among the very young, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strives to revive the economy before the March 23 elections, crucial for survival politics of him.

According to official data, 96% of people between 70 and 80 years old, who are most vulnerable to covid-19, have received at least one dose of the vaccine, a rate that drops to 44% among young people between 20 and 29 years, in a country that has no vaccine supply problems.

"The authorities should have launched this measure [the badges] a month earlier ... but this is clearly part of Netanyahu's campaign to be re-elected," says Levine.