Friday, January 1st, 2021
Relaxation through vaccination passports
Israel has already vaccinated a million people
No country has vaccinated as many people as Israel, based on its population. As soon as a majority of the risk groups are immunized, the economy should be reopened. That could be the case as early as mid-January.
Less than two weeks after starting a record-breaking vaccination campaign, Israel has already vaccinated a million of its citizens against the coronavirus. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Health Minister Juli Edelstein paid tribute to the millionth vaccinee on Friday in the Arab village of Umm el Fahm in the north of the country. That’s more than ten percent of the population – the country has almost 9.3 million inhabitants.
According to the Ministry of Health, around 153,400 people were vaccinated in Israel on Thursday alone. More than 40 percent of people over 60 in the country have already received the first dose of the Biontech Pfizer vaccine. Israel is vaccinating faster than any other country in the world. According to data from the organization “Our World in Data”, Israel continued to be clearly ahead with 9.18 doses per 100 inhabitants (as of December 30) – although not in absolute terms where the USA, China and Great Britain lead. Germany has a rate of 0.16 administered vaccine doses per 100 inhabitants.
However, the number of new corona infections in Israel has skyrocketed despite a third partial lockdown. According to the Ministry of Health, the number of new corona cases within 24 hours was 5804 on Friday. The previous day it was a little more at 5831 – the highest level since October. The Ministry of Health is therefore calling for the corona restrictions to be tightened from Sunday.
The Israeli government wants to vaccinate all risk groups as soon as possible and then reopen the economy. From mid-January onwards, “green passports” will be issued for vaccinated people who have received two doses, which will grant them various freedoms. This includes, for example, the exemption from the quarantine obligation for citizens when entering Israel. Strict entry restrictions still apply to foreigners in Israel.