The Omicron variant has Israel firmly in its grip. Nevertheless, the end of the corona vaccination certificates is imminent. Is that a bold move? Or is it collapsing?
Jerusalem – Hardly any other country has such a pioneering role in the fight against the corona pandemic* as Israel. With firm orders, the state in the Middle East was the fastest to secure many doses of the popular vaccine from Biontech/Pfizer*. And the world is also looking to Israel when it comes to studies on vaccines or new variants of the Sars-CoV-2 virus.
In the country with its around nine million inhabitants, the 7-day incidence is well over 5500, i.e. many times higher than the German incidence value, which the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) on Saturday (01/29/2022) with 1127, 7 indicates.* Most recently, up to 80,000 people got infected in one day – one infection record seems to follow the next. Nevertheless, Israel* wants to go a new way in the midst of the rapid omicron wave.
Green Passport: No more corona vaccination certificates from February 1 in Israel?
The Corona Expert Council, which advises the Israeli government on questions about the pandemic, recommends significantly changing the corona measures. Last week, the panel recommended abolishing the Green Passport, which has been one of the most important tools in the fight against the health crisis to date. When visiting sports or cultural events, fitness studios, museums, restaurants, universities and conferences, vaccination must be proven with the vaccination certificate.
The transmissibility of the omicron variant* of the coronavirus, as well as its ability to infect vaccinated people, made the Green Passport largely irrelevant, the Expert Council argued last week. Therefore, everything currently indicates that the certificates, which will expire by law from February 1st, will no longer be renewed.
According to the panel, the Corona certificate would create a false sense of security at numerous events. In all places where the Green Passport is a requirement, it can be observed that people hardly adhere to precautionary measures.
Israel’s Finance Minister for abolishing the Corona vaccination certificates
Since most people in Israel have now been vaccinated twice, three times or even four times*, the Green Passport is hardly an incentive for the vaccination campaign, according to the experts. In Germany, too, it is noticeable that the majority of those who have not been vaccinated are strictly opposed to vaccination, who are increasingly disappearing into a parallel world*, less of the undecided who are still thinking about the decision to have the corona vaccination.
In retirement and nursing homes, however, the strict corona rules should be maintained. For facilities and organizations where vulnerable populations are, guidelines would have to be formulated to prevent infection, the government’s expert panel said. “In general, the requirement for visitors to these facilities to present a green passport and a negative Covid 19 test should be retained.” A 2G plus regulation would then only apply to these places.
The project to abolish the corona vaccination certificates has met with both praise and criticism. Israel’s Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman spoke out in favor of an end to the Green Passport. “There is no medical and epidemiological logic in favor of the Green Passport and many experts agree,” the politician wrote on Twitter. The card causes considerable economic damage, impairs everyday life and would fuel panic among the population. “I’m working with all parties to abolish the Green Passport and have normal everyday life for all of us,” announced Lieberman.
Corona vaccination certificates: Is Israel’s health system in danger of collapsing after the abolition?
The head of the European Association for Heart Diseases, Yehuda Adler, on the other hand, sees the negative effects of the discussion about the abolition. Since the end of the Green Passport has been discussed, the Corona vaccination campaign has collapsed. “The children are hardly vaccinated anymore,” Adler complained to the news platform Ynet.
The professor considers the Israeli government’s plan to be a serious mistake. “We are at the peak of the outbreak, so we can wait a little longer,” said Adler. He has a grim prognosis for the coming weeks. “We’re already seeing hundreds of seriously ill patients, many of them intubated, and it’s a very worrying situation,” he said. One should not forget that the medical teams are already exhausted. “Staff is scarce, the system is overloaded, it is starving. I’m worried,” he said. (tvd) *fr.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
