Israel to scrap its COVID vaccine passport system as Omicron surge wanes
JERUSALEM — Israel’s coronavirus vaccination “green pass” system will be suspended as new daily infections continue to decline, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Thursday.
After meeting with health officials, Bennett said that Israel’s Omicron-driven wave “has been broken” and that additional lifting of coronavirus restrictions was forthcoming.
The green pass, Israel’s digital vaccination passport, limited entry to indoor venues and large gatherings to people who had recovered from COVID-19 or received at least three doses of vaccine.
Although new infections remain high, Israel’s health ministry has reported a steady decline in serious cases of COVID-19 since the peak of the country’s Omicron wave earlier in February.
Many health experts are strongly recommending the public still wear masks even as the state lifted its order requiring them to be worn in indoor public spaces for vaccinated people.
Israel raced out of the gate last year to vaccinate most of its adult population after striking a deal with Pfizer to trade medical data in exchange for a steady supply of doses. About 48% of Israel’s 9.4 million people have received three doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine since the country began rolling out immunizations in late 2020. More than 72% of the country has received at least one dose.
At least 9,710 people in Israel have died from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic two years ago.
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