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1st Country to Emerge from Pandemic : Israel Reopens After 50% Vaccinated. Singapore?

shockshiok

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Israel conquered Pandemic. Must carry Covid Cert of Vaccination, Economy Reopen, Life return to normal. Singapore follow when? 2021 or 2022?

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...ber-of-covid-vaccinees-nears-50-idUKKBN2AL036


Israel's COVID vaccination pass opens fast track to normal life

By Dan Williams
3 MIN READ

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel reopened swathes of its economy including malls and leisure facilities on Sunday, with the government saying the start of a return to routine was enabled by COVID-19 vaccines administered to almost half the population.

Shops were open to all. But access to gyms, hotels and theatres was limited to people with a “Green Pass”: those who have had both doses of the vaccine more than a week prior, or recovered from the disease with presumed immunity.


Pass-holders could prove their status by presenting a vaccination certificate or downloading a Health Ministry app linked to their medical files.

Coming exactly a year after Israel’s first documented coronavirus case, Sunday’s easing of curbs was part of a government plan to open the economy more widely next month, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is up for reelection.

“We are the first country in the world that is reviving itself thanks to the millions of vaccines we brought in,” he tweeted. “Vaccinated? Get the Green Pass and get back to life.”

Mask-wearing and social-distancing were still in force. Dancing was barred at banquet halls. Synagogues, mosques or churches were required to halve their normal congregation sizes.

Elementary schoolchildren and pupils in the last two years of high school resumed classes in towns with contagion rates under control. Middle-school pupils were still home-learning, however, prompting some to stage a sit-down protest in a mall.

“I haven’t been in school in a year,” said 14-year-old demonstrator Rotem Bachar. “How does it make sense to open malls up to crowds, while we can’t attend class if even they are capped at 15 to 20 pupils and have other precautions?”

Israel has administered at least one dose of the Pfizer Inc vaccine to more than 46% of its 9 million population, the Health Ministry says. The ministry said on Saturday that the risk of illness from COVID-19 dropped 95.8% among people who received both shots.

Israel has logged more than 740,000 cases and 5,500 deaths from COVID-19, drawing criticism of Netanyahu’s sometimes patchy enforcement of three national lockdowns. The government has pledged that there will not be a fourth.

But Nachman Ash, a physician in charge of the country’s pandemic response, told Army Radio that another lockdown “is still possible ... Half of the population is still not immune.”
 

winners

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Loyal
I anticipate 6 months from now, the Covid-19 destruction will be much more minimized as more people gets the vaccinations and herd immunity shall prevail.
 

laksaboy

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
Pappies have set the target of 80% vaccinated population for the so-called 'herd immunity'. :wink:
 

laksaboy

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
I anticipate 6 months from now, the Covid-19 destruction will be much more minimized as more people gets the vaccinations and herd immunity shall prevail.

But if the vaccines were truly effective, surely the vaccinated folks won't need to wear a mask or do social distancing, no? They can't be infected, and won't infect others... in theory. :wink:

From the CDC website:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/facts.html

It typically takes a few weeks for the body to build immunity (protection against the virus that causes COVID-19) after vaccination.

So if you have been vaccinated and you're still wearing a mask or herded like farm animals months after your vaccination, either the vaccines are not working or... they are working as intended. In any case, your life is certainly not 'returning to normal'. :cool:
 

Hypocrite-The

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I will b the devils advocate on this. I believe the average singkie is against the vaccines . They rather the country b on lockdown for ever etc than risk the vaccine. In addition out of the millions of doses given ..how many have died due to the vaccine? These are the same ppl...that kpkb the virus will kill them. N yet dont want the vaccine.. its like saying i want to go buffet n makan..but i scared fat..so wat these ppl want?
 

Hypocrite-The

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Loyal
No vaccine no fly. N if a majority dont immunise than the option is lock down forever. N higher risk of getting the virus..do the people want that?

A new digital vaccination passport will be trialled on flights between Auckland and Sydney
A virtual vaccination passport to be trialled by Air New Zealand hopes to fast-track access to passenger health information once international travel borders reopen.

Air New Zealand aims to trial the pass on flights between Auckland and Sydney, beginning in April.
Air New Zealand aims to trial the pass on flights between Auckland and Sydney, beginning in April. Source: AFP

Air New Zealand will trial a digital travel pass to give airlines and border authorities access to passenger health information, including their Covid-19 vaccination status, the carrier said Monday.

The scheme, dubbed a "vaccination passport" by industry observers, is intended to streamline travel once borders reopen by allowing passengers to store their health credentials in one place.

"It's essentially like having a digital health certificate that can be easily and securely shared with airlines," said Air New Zealand chief digital officer Jennifer Sepull.

Advertisement
The proposed scheme relies on an app developed by the International Air Transport Association and other airlines including Etihad and Emirates have already signed up for their own trials.

Air New Zealand aims to trial the pass on flights between Auckland and Sydney, beginning in April.

Read More
The association's senior vice-president Nick Careen said the app is an important milestone in restarting international travel as global vaccine rollouts get underway.

"Governments can be confident that passengers who are 'OK to travel' are in full compliance of Covid-19 travel requirements," he said.

Mr Careen said the app ensured privacy by giving users control of the health data they provided.

Read More
Australia formed a one-way trans-Tasman travel bubble with New Zealand in May last year. Under the agreement residents from New Zealand would be allowed to travel in and out of Australia without quarantine.

New Zealand was supposed to allow travellers from Australia into their country by the end of March this year.

But, due to new outbreaks in both countries, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern now says talks are still ongoing as to when they will open the bubble.

New Zealand has been praised globally for their efforts to stamp out the virus. The country was among the first in the world to impose border restrictions and internal lockdowns.

They have reported a total of 2357 cases and 26 deaths since the pandemic began.

The Air New Zealand trial begins in April.

Share
Published 23 February 2021 at 2:13pm
Source: AFP - SBS
 

Hypocrite-The

Alfrescian
Loyal
What about the palestinians. They did not get vaccinated and will perish from the pandemic.
Israel is giving the world a glimpse into a post-vaccine future. But not everyone is happy
By Middle East correspondent Tom Joyner and Fouad AbuGosh

Posted Yesterday at 10:36pm, updated 12h
hours
Play Video. Duration: 2 minutes
Israel begins to reopen after mass vaccination program
Share
As Israel's vaccine campaign inches closer to completion, the world is watching closely for a glimpse into what life could be like after the coronavirus pandemic.

Key points:
Israel has the world's highest vaccination rate per capita
Nearly half of Israelis have received one shot, while a third have received both doses
Permits have been issued to the vaccinated so they can resume leisure activities
So far the data from the world's fastest vaccination program is promising, but questions remain, chief among them: What will a post-vaccine society look like?

Israel has now eased restrictions across the country, but additional perks are being made available to those who have been vaccinated and can prove it using a government app known as "green badge".

The result is Israel is becoming a sort of global experiment, one in which the rules of post-vaccine society and the effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine under real-world conditions are being put to the test.

"We are now finally in the moment where we need to think how we return to the new normal," Nadav Davidovitch, a public health physician from Ben Gurion University, said.

It is estimated about half of Israelis have received the first dose of Pfizer's two-shot regime. A third of people have received both shots.

Those who have been given the two doses are allowed back into gyms, movie theatres and swimming pools, while their non-vaccinated counterparts will have to wait.

On the streets of Jerusalem, Israel's biggest city, the mood was palpable as restrictions were eased.

"I think there's a feeling of the beginning of the end," Ittay Flischer told the ABC outside a Jerusalem supermarket.

Israel's infection rate dropping
Play Video. Duration: 46 seconds
Israelis in Beit Shemesh praise the efficiency of vaccine rollout
After governments began approving COVID-19 vaccines in late 2020, people became hopeful the end of the pandemic was near.

But it remained unclear whether vaccines would offer total immunity from the disease, and if they would be able to prevent the spread of coronavirus between people.

Early results from Israel's vaccination efforts are encouraging.

A group of Israeli researchers has found one jab of the Pfizer vaccine may reduce viral loads in a person, making it harder to transmit coronavirus if someone becomes infected after the first dose.

This followed a previous study by Israel's largest health provider, Clalit, on February 14 that reported a 94 per cent reduction in COVID-19 infections among 600,000 people who had received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

A crowded beach on Israel's coast
Gyms, sports events, hotels and swimming pools are open to those who have been vaccinated.(Reuters: Amir Cohen)
In fact, Israel's infection rate has been falling steadily since its peak in January, but there is only limited evidence to suggest how much of that is owing to the vaccine and how much is owing to lockdown measures.

"There is a reduction in transmission," Professor Davidovitch said.

"Is it 50 per cent, 60 per cent, 70 per cent? It's not clear yet."

Values shown are 14-day averages.

But it is not just infections that have dropped.

There has also been a sharp and fast decline in the number of people taken to hospital with COVID-19 in Israel.

"We need to remember that vaccines cannot be a magic bullet solution," Professor Davidovitch said.

"So what [Israel is] doing now is taking some measures that are very proportionate … mass testing, preventing mass gatherings and, of course, continuing wearing masks until we have herd immunity."

How Israel became the world's fastest vaccinator
Many governments around the world will be monitoring to see if any of Israel's lessons can be applied to their own countries, making this nation something of a global test laboratory.

But Israel's situation is unique.

A masked man with his shirt half off in a bar sits while a paramedic injects his arm and a woman in the background watches on
To meet its goal of a fully vaccinated nation by May, Israel is offering free drinks to young people who come in to get their injections.(Reuters: Corinna Kern)
A combination of factors gave Israel an edge, including a smaller population, and a deal struck with Pfizer to provide anonymised data that in turn landed a continuous vaccine supply.

In Israel, which will go to the polls for the fourth election in two years on March 23, the vaccine is undoubtedly political.

"[Prime Minister] Netanyahu sees the vaccines as his main playing card," said Gil Hoffman, who covers politics for Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post.

"He has saved Israel from coronavirus and COVID-19 in his mind."

The Israeli government appears to be going to extraordinary lengths to keep up the fast pace of its vaccine rollout compared to other countries.

But the vaccination scheme is not without controversy.

The green badge scheme means those who are unwilling to get the injection may not be allowed to return to leisure activities or international travel anytime soon.

"Whoever does not get vaccinated will be left behind," Israel's health minister Yuli Edelstein has warned.

What about Palestinians?
While Israel presses on, Palestinians living in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and in Gaza — a small coastal territory controlled by Hamas that has been blockaded by Israel and Egypt since 2007 — will likely wait much longer for their jabs.

A woman in a veil and face mask with her arms outstretched while standing before a golden domed mosque
Israel has the world's highest rate of COVID-19 vaccination per capita but the Palestinian territories have only just started vaccinating.(AP: Mahmoud Illean)
Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila has also said that Israel is providing 100,000 more Palestinians who regularly cross into Israel to work with vaccinations.

"Any [delay in] giving the vaccine for the Palestinian population in West Bank and Gaza will affect the herd immunity in Israel and even in Jordan," Dr Ali Abed Rabbo, the director-general of the Palestinian Health Ministry, told the ABC.

Israel and its supporters have argued vaccinations in the West Bank and Gaza are the responsibility of the elected leaders there.

"The criticism from the world that Israel isn't doing enough to help the Palestinians, I don't think that's taken too seriously by anyone in Israel," Mr Hoffman said.

"We know that it's not our responsibility and hasn't been since the mid-1990s. There was never an expectation that would be something that Israel would have to take care of."

But some groups, including the United Nations Human Rights Council, have argued Israel has a legal responsibility to inoculate Palestinians under occupation in the same way it does its own citizens.

"There is an obligation on Israel as an occupying force," Dr Ali said.

Another challenge for Palestinians receiving the vaccine is access.

A man with a box of vaccine vials surrounded by people in face masks
Israel, Russia and the United Arab Emirates have donated vaccines to the Palestinian territories.(Reuters: Ibraheem Abu Mustafa)
Both territories have so far relied on vaccines donated by Israel, Russia and the United Arab Emirates. Both need Israel's approval to import their doses.

On top of 2,000 Russian-made Sputnik V vaccines that arrived in Gaza last week after Israel allowed their delivery, the Palestinian Authority is expecting many more for both Gaza and the West Bank, including from the World Health Organization's COVAX program.

But it is unclear when they will all arrive, and with such a patchwork of suppliers, there is no clear date on when the Palestinian territories will complete their inoculation drive.
 

QANONSG

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Loyal
Vaccines all have mind control microchips. We join with the wise who say dont take the vaccine.

Jews will be sacrificed for their arrogance. Who do they think they are? Life will never return to normal. We asked the CCP to release the virus for our own gain.
 

busy123

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true or not? Israeli is small country like Sing Sing. If our million dollar ministar cannot perform and get us reopen then how?

both is small nation no excuse. one is reopen other is you die is your business. acceptable?
 

Kraken

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HA HA look 1 country go back to normal now you can watch all the cockroaches come out deny, say not so fast etc.

Singapore cannot be compare to the ang moh far better see results.
 

IMHDOCTOR

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Loyal
true or not? Israeli is small country like Sing Sing. If our million dollar ministar cannot perform and get us reopen then how?

both is small nation no excuse. one is reopen other is you die is your business. acceptable?

the desire to return to regular lifestyle mods is both natural and normal. this is yet a natural expression of positive mental health.

Ministers of State, and by extension the Government of Singapore, however, are another matter entirely. We have specialists to address those who have been impacted by the individuals in power.

kindly contact us for an assessment:

https://www.imh.com.sg/

Institute of Mental Health
http://www.imh.com.sg/
Buangkok Green Medical Park
10 Buangkok View
Singapore 539747
 

kiketerm

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Loyal
true or not? Israeli is small country like Sing Sing. If our million dollar ministar cannot perform and get us reopen then how?

both is small nation no excuse. one is reopen other is you die is your business. acceptable?

Yes its factual. And yes, both we are Israel are small nations, but the Jews are very close to the United States and we are not, so they have priority.

Anything they want, they get because their very people control many segments of the United States. :eek:
 
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