On Wednesday, the Israeli Ministry of Health announced updates to the country’s “green pass” vaccine passport system. Israeli “green pass” status was already only good for six months following a second dose. Now, green pass status is set to expire six months after a COVID-19 booster shot as well, meaning that Israel will now be requiring bi-yearly vaccination.
Israel currently requires vaccine passports for sporting events, hotels, tourist attractions and just about every public setting. Citizens who can provide proof of recovery from COVID-19 receive green pass status for six months following the date of recovery, and then must be vaccinated. Proof of vaccination is generally presented via an app downloaded on smartphones.
With the new guidelines, Israel becomes the first country to formally announce what amounts to bi-yearly vaccination against COVID-19. The nation’s vaccine passport system does not appear to have an expiration date, rather, it will seemingly be updated after six months. Israel ranks as one of the world’s most vaccinated nations and also the only one that has rolled out so-called booster shots aggressively. Of note, Israel only allows the controversial Pfizer vaccine to be used within the country.
In August, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett declared that the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine “has faded against” the Delta variant. He added that Israelis should “quickly get vaccinated with the third dose.” (READ MORE: FDA Advisory Panel Rejects COVID Booster Shots In Disappointment To Pfizer, Biden Regime)
Israel’s green pass news was somewhat expected following previous comments from Israeli COVID-19 health czar Salman Zarka. Zarka told the public to prepare for a fourth dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in a radio interview earlier this month. “Given that that the virus is here and will continue to be here, we also need to prepare for a fourth injection,” Zarka said.
Nitzan Horowitz, the Health Minister for Israel, was caught on a hot mic earlier this month where he admitted that there are no health justifications for many areas where the vaccine passport is currently in use.
