- Israel wants to reopen its economy with priority for those who have had both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.
- Israel is leading the world in vaccinating its people and is beginning to plan for what comes next.
- The ideas are still being debated and Israel’s ultimate policy could change.
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Israel is debating a plan to reopen parts of its economy to only those who have had both doses of a coronavirus vaccine.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the plan in a speech on Sunday, and the Israeli cabinet met on Monday to further discuss the plans.
The policy is likely to attract attention from around the world: Israel vaccinated more of its population than any other country, with about 45% of people now getting at least one dose.
No formal announcement had been made at the time of publication, although Netanyahu set out in detail the plan he was pursuing.
Speaking at the opening of the country’s cabinet meeting on the coronavirus, Israel’s prime minister said the country should open “gradually and gently,” the Jerusalem Post reported. Some in Israel are urging him to go faster.
Some details of Netanyahu’s plan were posted to his website on Sunday in the form of a transcribed speech.
The land is scheduled to open in two phases, it said: a preliminary phase followed by a more comprehensive opening in two weeks.
In that second phase, about two weeks later, those vaccinated will be able to “enter hotels, museums, cultural performances, restaurants, swimming pools, shopping malls, basketball and football games, flights abroad and the like,” he said.
Some media outlets have reported that the opening of the sites for vaccinated people could come earlier.
Netanyahu promised in January that the entire country would be vaccinated by the end of March.
According to data from John Hopkins University, more than 2 million people, or just over 28% of the population, have received two injections.
Data from the Israeli vaccine program showed Friday that the Pfizer vaccine is 93% effective in preventing the disease, raising hope that the massive vaccination will allow a return to a more normal life.
Read more: ICE has no plan to vaccinate 13,860 immigrants in custody against COVID-19. This is how one of the most at-risk groups in the US falls through the cracks.
However, young Israelis have shown less willingness to get the shots, which could slow the rollout as a higher proportion of the adult population is offered vaccination.
This is causing tension in the run-up to the March elections, which will determine whether Netanyahu remains in office.
Hareetz reported that Netanyahu also announced on Sunday that he plans to push for legislation to disclose the names of people who have yet to be vaccinated to local authorities.
The country has also been criticized for barring Palestinians from rolling out vaccines, Insider’s Erin Snodgrass reports.