In October, Israelis who will not have received a booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccines will lose their “Green Pass” privileges.
The “Green Pass” is Israel’s version of a vaccine passport. It is needed to access most places, including restaurants, sports stadiums, hotels, cinemas, and theaters.
From October, the Green Pass privileges will only be available to those who have received a booster shot.
On Sunday, the booster shots became available to everyone over the age of 12.
The “Green Pass” programs, and other similar programs, are being criticized for many reasons – for privacy and civil liberties reasons and also resulting in a “perpetual cycle of jabs,” which, according to the WHO could significantly delay the availability of the vaccine to third-world countries.
There were already some hints that the Israeli government was going to take this approach.
This month, Israel’s minister for health, Nitzan Horowitz hinted that the country was reaching a point where the vaccine passports would only make sense for people who had been triple-vaccinated.
“After about half a year, you have to get a third dose. Otherwise, the vaccine loses its power,” Horowitz said. “The Green Pass testifies that a person is safe in a certain way…so the moment we know that the vaccine loses its effectiveness after a certain period, there’s no justification for giving a green pass to someone who hasn’t gotten another dose.”
