Israeli youths take their drinks after receiving coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine within the scope of the campaign, free non-alcoholic drinks of various types were distributed to those who came to be vaccinated at the center in Tel Aviv
Credit: Anadolu/Anadolu
Israel will on Sunday take a major step towards normality with the rollout of a digital vaccination pass that allows citizens to visit gyms, swimming pools and hotels.
As the Jewish state continues to peel back the layers of lockdown after the world’s fastest vaccination drive, Israelis holding vaccine passes, also known as “green passports” will be allowed to visit leisure centres and enjoy holidays at hotel resorts.
The green passport will be available to download on an app run by the health ministry but it can also be printed out on paper, allowing the technology-averse ultra-orthodox community to benefit from the scheme.
Those who have caught and recovered from Covid will also be allowed to use the passports, which feature a QR barcode that, once scanned, checks Israeli health records to confirm that the holder has received both doses of a Covid vaccine.
"Getting vaccinated is a moral duty. It is part of our mutual responsibility,” said Yuli Edelstein, the health minister, as the vaccination pass was unveiled.
“Whoever does not get vaccinated will be left behind.”
Health workers of the Maccabi Healthcare Services prepare to administer doses of Pfizer-BioNtech coronavirus vaccine inside a van in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv-Jaffa
Credit: Jack Guez/AFP/Jack Guez/AFP
Oleg Ivanyukov, the owner of Fitness Land in Rishon Lezion, said his staff were looking forward to welcoming back customers, but he had some concerns that the passport rule could be discriminatory.
“I am not a cop or an inspector, so we will just ask them if they have been vaccinated,” he said.
“I’m not going to ask to see the certificate, but if they have been vaccinated then they are welcome.”
Israeli officials say they are aware of attempts to create forged vaccine passports and have warned that trying to use one to enter a restricted venue will be a criminal offence.
The restrictions will not apply to museums and libraries, raising questions as to whether those venues could become incubators for the virus, while essential shops such as supermarkets will also remain open to all.
Many Israeli shopkeepers already place electronic thermometers outside their stores to deter those with Covid symptoms from going inside. And, last week, restaurants were allowed to reopen their doors to offer takeaways.
Israel has also partially reopened schools to young pupils and those taking final exams, and on Sunday grades 5-6 and 11-12 will also be allowed back in areas with a low rate of coronavirus infections.
To date, Israel has given the first of two jabs to around four million of its 9.1m citizens, while the vast majority of over-60s have been fully vaccinated.
The Covid infection rate remains relatively high, which has been blamed on mutations such as the UK strain.
But a new drug that can substantially ease severe Covid symptoms in as little as two hours is being seen as a major gamechanger.
The drug, Allocetra, was designed by Professor Dror Mevorach, the head of the coronavirus department at Hadassah Medical Centre in Jerusalem, and is being tested on ventilated patients.
Prof Mevorach said the drug, which is administered through an IV drip, works to “calm down” a patients’ immune system as it goes into overdrive in an attempt to fight off the virus.
The phenomenon, known to doctors as “cytokine storms,” leads to organ failure and frequently results in death.
“I do hope that everyone will get vaccinated, however this drug can significantly reduce the burden on hospitals,” Prov Mevorach said.
“With this drug it is possible to reduce the average period that a patient spends [in intensive care] from 14-20 days to just seven days.”
Medical teams celebrate before receiving coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines
Credit: Reuters/Reuters
It would be no exaggeration to say the drug has brought patients in Israel back from the brink of death.
Among them is Yair Taieb, who was brought to Hadassah in a critical state but began to feel better just a few hours after being treated with Allocetra.
“After receiving the medicine, I started to feel something strange in my body, but positive,” Mr Taieb told the Sunday Telegraph.
“After two hours I was on my feet again and I stopped coughing. A week later I was home. I am still using oxygen but feeling stronger every day.” The drug is in its third phase of clinical trials and Prof Mevorach hopes it will be made widely available within the next few months, after approval from Israeli regulators.
A new UK-Israel trade partnership unveiled in London last week could play a key role in bringing drugs such as Allocetra to Britain.
The UK Israel HealthTech Forum, which is backed by a cross-party group of MPs, the Israeli ambassador to the UK and leading Israeli Covid expert Prof Ran Balicer, aims to knock down trade barriers between the two countries.
In the Palestinian territories, Covid vaccinations have already begun in the West Bank for essential health workers while earlier this week a batch of 2,000 vaccine doses was delivered to the Gaza strip, which is controlled by the Hamas militant group.
With elections due to be held in Israel on March 23, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu hopes that success on vaccines will hand him a decisive victory, following three inconclusive polls over the last three years.
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