Oriental Network·Zongxiang News Reporter Cheng Jing
The "post-epidemic era" is slowly opening. Israel is currently the fastest country in the world with the fastest COVID-19 vaccination rate. According to data from the Israeli Ministry of Health, as of February 18 local time, 4 million Israeli citizens have received at least one dose of the new crown vaccine, and more than 2.6 million residents have received two doses intact.
This week, the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu government voted to pass a resolution that will gradually restart commercial and public places while continuing to implement social isolation and mandatory mask wearing orders. Starting from this Sunday (21st), only residents who have received two doses of the new crown vaccine or have recovered from the new crown vaccine will be allowed to enter leisure places and must bring a vaccination certificate QR code to enter.
(Picture says: An orthodox Jewish in Israel is vaccinated against the new crown vaccine. Photo/EPA)
More than foreign media reported that this measure, called "Green Passport", is an important part of the Israeli government's "carrot and stick" policy, and the purpose is to call on more people to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
Israeli Health Minister Yuri Edstein once publicly stated that the Israeli government will not force people to get vaccinated with the new crown vaccine, but his recent words still reveal the meaning of "using both soft and hard": "Vaccination is a moral obligation and our common responsibility. Whoever does not get vaccinated with the new crown vaccine will be abandoned by (society)."
As countries launch a vigorous new crown vaccination project, like controversial phenomena such as "vaccine passports" and the hoarding of vaccines in rich countries, this new measure has also triggered discussions on privacy rights, epidemic prevention laws and discrimination at home and abroad.
According to the New York Times, although the country's population ranks first in the world in terms of COVID-19 vaccine, more than 2 million Israeli residents aged 16 years old are still unwilling to get vaccinated.
34-year-old Jerusalem resident and travel agency operator Orphic Hakorn is one of them. Hakorn advocates natural therapy, believes that the new crown is a "large flu", and expresses his disbelief of the safety of the new crown vaccine.
Hakkorn told the New York Times that if he is not vaccinated, he cannot go to the theater, watch football games, or eat in a restaurant, then he will not go. "I hate this very much, but what can I do? I will not be vaccinated no matter what, I believe I am not alone."
If watching performances and eating in a restaurant is a leisure activity, ordinary people can give up if they want to give up, but for workers, whether they are vaccinated or not may threaten their work.
20-year-old Tel Aviv resident Haifa Zeinab chose not to get vaccinated because his aunt had adverse reactions after receiving the new crown vaccine twice. She said that if the home store she works in requires her to get vaccinated or receive a coronavirus test every two days before coming to work, "then I won't come."
It is reported that more than a quarter of teachers in Israel have not received the COVID-19 vaccine. According to the Times of Israel, at Sheba Medical Center, the largest hospital in the country, 10%-30% of medical staff still refuse to get vaccinated, among which the proportion of nurses refuse to get vaccinated is higher than that of doctors. Critics say those who refuse to get vaccinated could threaten the health of teenagers under the age of 16 and patients in the hospital.
It is reported that some places in Israel have banned teachers who have not received the COVID-19 vaccine from entering the classroom, and the civil rights organization has also received a large number of related complaints. In response, the Israeli Deputy Minister of Justice clarified that the government and schools are not allowed to do so without legislation.
Gil Gan-Moore of the Israel Civil Rights Association said the primary problem is that the government has no unified policy, which has led to various measures taken by local governments and employers.
(Picture says: In February this year, the seaside of Tel Aviv, Israel.Photo/EPA/Shutterstock)
The New York Times pointed out that in order to end the third "closure" as soon as possible, some local governments and businesses are more advanced and radical than the Israeli central government. Objectively, they "push the central government": a shopping center in Bat Yam, a suburb of Tel Aviv, took the lead in implementing the "green badge" policy since last week, reopening malls, and only allowing customers who can prove that they have been vaccinated, or infected with the new crown and recovered from entering.
Mayor Karmiel has also passed a move that businesses that recover from the infection will be allowed to start work only if all employees have received two doses of the vaccine, or if they recover from the infection.
In order to attract the public to get vaccinated, some local governments and epidemic prevention volunteers also provide free pizza, desserts or religious food at vaccination centers.
At the same time, the Israeli Ministry of Health has also promoted a cyber operation to combat anti-vaccine disinformation, aiming to block the source of false information. In addition, the Israeli Ministry of Health intends to implement two bills, including requiring employees who have not been vaccinated but need to contact the public to receive coronavirus tests every two days, and allowing the Ministry of Health to inform local governments of people who have not been vaccinated.
The New York Times said that in the eyes of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, whether the COVID-19 vaccination project is successful is linked to his next election results. This week he reminded again that more than 500,000 middle-aged and elderly people over 50 have not been vaccinated, and among the people in the country who died from COVID-19, 97% of the deaths and 93% of the severe cases occurred in this age group.
(Picture: Intensive Care Unit of Zif Medical Center in Safid, Israel. Photo/AP)
According to data from the Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 Information Center, as of the 19th, the country has accumulated more than 740,000 confirmed cases of new coronavirus infection and more than 5,500 deaths. With the continued development of vaccination projects, the number of new cases in the country has dropped from nearly 10,000 in mid-January to more than 3,000 recently.
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