Coming soon to a country near you....

[Habana Mike]

COVID Vaccine Passports Announced by Israel in World First

BY SOO KIM ON 12/14/20 AT 10:19 AM EST

Israel will be the first country to issue a "green passport" to residents who have received the COVID-19 vaccine. The passport will lift some restrictions, including mandatory quarantine following exposure to an infected person, and offer access to cultural events and restaurants, according to Israel's Ministry of Health.

A green passport will be issued by the ministry two weeks after the second of the required two vaccine shots is received by the individual.

"This passport will show that a person is vaccinated and will give a number of advantages such as not needing to quarantine, entry to all kinds of culture events, restaurants, and so on," the Ministry of Health's Director-General Chezy Levy told Israel's Channel 12.

The green passport would allow residents to travel abroad without having to be tested for the virus, as currently required, Israeli Minister of Health Yuli Edelstein said.

He explained the green passports are not aimed at offering benefits to those who get vaccinated, but that "those who are no longer in danger of being ill with the coronavirus can do things that others who are still in danger of the virus can't do."

The first inoculations could take place from this Sunday, according to local media reports.

The first vaccinations were initially expected to be administered from December 27 but the date has been brought forward, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials managing the country's COVID-19 response said Sunday.

Last Wednesday, Israel received its first shipment of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine. It was expected the country would have enough to inoculate about a quarter of the population by the end of the year.

The country is prepared to vaccinate 60,000 of its nine million citizens per day, Netanyahu said in a televised address last Wednesday.

According to polls, around 50 to 75 percent of Israelis say they plan to refuse to receive the COVID-19 vaccine due to safety concerns.

Netanyahu confirmed he will be the first to be inoculated.

"The risks in not taking the vaccine are far greater than the risks in taking it, and that's why I'll get vaccinated first and I expect everyone to get vaccinated," the prime minister told Israel's Channel 20 on Sunday.

The latest announcement comes as total confirmed cases in Israel approach 358,000, with 3,003 reported deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Weekly new cases in Israel peaked in the week commencing September 21 and flattened out from late October, according to the latest report Monday from the World Health Organization (WHO).

While Israel is the first country to issue a vaccine passport, several countries (including the U.K., Estonia, Italy and Chile) are considering the introduction of immunity passports, which would indicate the level immunity a person has to COVID-19 through the detection of antibodies.

As early as April, WHO published guidance regarding immunity passports, noting: "Some governments have suggested that the detection of antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, could serve as the basis for an 'immunity passport' or 'risk-free certificate' that would enable individuals to travel or to return to work assuming that they are protected against re-infection.

"There is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection," WHO warned.

Credit: Newsweek

[Ken Gargett]

9 minutes ago, Habana Mike said:

COVID Vaccine Passports Announced by Israel in World First

BY SOO KIM ON 12/14/20 AT 10:19 AM EST

Israel will be the first country to issue a "green passport" to residents who have received the COVID-19 vaccine. The passport will lift some restrictions, including mandatory quarantine following exposure to an infected person, and offer access to cultural events and restaurants, according to Israel's Ministry of Health.

A green passport will be issued by the ministry two weeks after the second of the required two vaccine shots is received by the individual.

"This passport will show that a person is vaccinated and will give a number of advantages such as not needing to quarantine, entry to all kinds of culture events, restaurants, and so on," the Ministry of Health's Director-General Chezy Levy told Israel's Channel 12.

The green passport would allow residents to travel abroad without having to be tested for the virus, as currently required, Israeli Minister of Health Yuli Edelstein said.

He explained the green passports are not aimed at offering benefits to those who get vaccinated, but that "those who are no longer in danger of being ill with the coronavirus can do things that others who are still in danger of the virus can't do."

The first inoculations could take place from this Sunday, according to local media reports.

The first vaccinations were initially expected to be administered from December 27 but the date has been brought forward, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials managing the country's COVID-19 response said Sunday.

Last Wednesday, Israel received its first shipment of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine. It was expected the country would have enough to inoculate about a quarter of the population by the end of the year.

The country is prepared to vaccinate 60,000 of its nine million citizens per day, Netanyahu said in a televised address last Wednesday.

According to polls, around 50 to 75 percent of Israelis say they plan to refuse to receive the COVID-19 vaccine due to safety concerns.

Netanyahu confirmed he will be the first to be inoculated.

"The risks in not taking the vaccine are far greater than the risks in taking it, and that's why I'll get vaccinated first and I expect everyone to get vaccinated," the prime minister told Israel's Channel 20 on Sunday.

The latest announcement comes as total confirmed cases in Israel approach 358,000, with 3,003 reported deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Weekly new cases in Israel peaked in the week commencing September 21 and flattened out from late October, according to the latest report Monday from the World Health Organization (WHO).

While Israel is the first country to issue a vaccine passport, several countries (including the U.K., Estonia, Italy and Chile) are considering the introduction of immunity passports, which would indicate the level immunity a person has to COVID-19 through the detection of antibodies.

As early as April, WHO published guidance regarding immunity passports, noting: "Some governments have suggested that the detection of antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, could serve as the basis for an 'immunity passport' or 'risk-free certificate' that would enable individuals to travel or to return to work assuming that they are protected against re-infection.

"There is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection," WHO warned.

Credit: Newsweek

yep! i think we are going to see a lot more of this. 

people can insist on not receiving the vaccination but they will be precluded from much. 

[Hammer Smokin']

This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone with their eyes open wide. 

[Baccy]

Is this coming to the country know as USA?

 

[PigFish]

... don't need an ID to vote, but you definitely need 'papers' to get a bowl of soup!

That old mark of the beast stuff. Looking less fringe every year! -Piggy

[PigFish]

....

Businessman and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang encountered some criticism on Friday after he recommended that Individuals ought to have a downloadable bar code that verifies they’ve acquired the coronavirus vaccine.

“Is there a means for somebody to simply present that they’ve been vaccinated – like a bar code they’ll obtain to their cellphone?” he requested on Twitter. “There must be.”

....

[Nevrknow]

25 minutes ago, PigFish said:

... don't need an ID to vote, but you definitely need 'papers' to get a bowl of soup!

That old mark of the beast stuff. Looking less fringe every year! -Piggy

Funny how that stuff keeps popping up it's head huh?

[NSXCIGAR]

 

2 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

"There is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection," WHO warned.

That's incredible. So the WHO is telling us that they need evidence showing this virus is fundamentally the same as every other virus known to man?

So the fact that there has been only one single case of reinfection in North America (where an initial false positive can't be ruled out) isn't important to the WHO? 

Breaking: the WHO has no evidence that the sun will rise tomorrow and the jury is still out on whether objects with mass will fall down tomorrow.

By the way, if I have the antibodies, I'm going to resist getting this vaccine tooth and nail. 

[Nevrknow]

10 minutes ago, NSXCIGAR said:

 

That's incredible. So the WHO is telling us that they need evidence showing this virus is fundamentally the same as every other virus known to man?

So the fact that there has been only one single case of reinfection in North America (where an initial false positive can't be ruled out) isn't important to the WHO? 

Breaking: the WHO has no evidence that the sun will rise tomorrow and the jury is still out on whether objects with mass will fall down tomorrow.

By the way, if I have the antibodies, I'm going to resist getting this vaccine tooth and nail. 

If the sun doesn't rise tomorrow it will be my fault. Ask my wife. She'll tell you.

[Meklown]

27 minutes ago, NSXCIGAR said:

So the fact that there has been only one single case of reinfection in North America (where an initial false positive can't be ruled out) isn't important to the WHO? 

Pretty sure there has been more than one case, there was also one in HK too

[Habana Mike]

47 minutes ago, NSXCIGAR said:

 

That's incredible. So the WHO is telling us that they need evidence showing this virus is fundamentally the same as every other virus known to man?

So the fact that there has been only one single case of reinfection in North America (where an initial false positive can't be ruled out) isn't important to the WHO? 

Breaking: the WHO has no evidence that the sun will rise tomorrow and the jury is still out on whether objects with mass will fall down tomorrow.

By the way, if I have the antibodies, I'm going to resist getting this vaccine tooth and nail. 

Well, isn't the whole idea of a vaccine to develop the antibodies. Given that, if you already have them why would you need a vaccine, eh?

Interesting times....

[NSXCIGAR]

2 hours ago, Meklown said:

Pretty sure there has been more than one case, there was also one in HK too

That was 1 in North America. I believe there's less than 10 in the world, and it's impossible to know if the initial tests were simply false positives. This would be consistent with everything we know about viruses and antibody protection, unlike what the WHO is spinning.

The WHO is essentially suggesting this virus behaves differently than everything we know about viruses and then tries to prove a negative saying there's no evidence that it's not different, so you'd better just take the vaccine to be safe. There's also no evidence I'm a unicorn that poops lucky charms.

NO ONE, ever, should be taking a vaccine if they don't have to. Unless I see very strong evidence of high reinfection rates or an explanation as to why this is the only virus antibodies don't protect you from my position on this won't change.

2 hours ago, Habana Mike said:

Well, isn't the whole idea of a vaccine to develop the antibodies.Given that, if you already have them why would you need a vaccine, eh?

Yes, particularly if, as we've been told, doses are scarce. It's medical malpractice not to discourage healthy children and those who have the antibodies from taking the vaccine. It's unnecessary risk in addition to wasting of precious doses. And I've yet to hear anyone publicly proclaim it. 

I hope individual doctors are requiring antibody tests before administering this stuff and refusing to vaccinate these groups that absolutely do not need it. 

[JZBdano]

4 minutes ago, NSXCIGAR said:

That was 1 in North America. I believe there's less than 10 in the world, and it's impossible to know if the initial tests were simply false positives. This would be consistent with everything we know about viruses and antibody protection, unlike what the WHO is spinning.

The WHO is essentially suggesting this virus behaves differently than everything we know about viruses and then tries to prove a negative saying there's no evidence that it's not different, so you'd better just take the vaccine to be safe. There's also no evidence I'm a unicorn that poops lucky charms.

NO ONE, ever, should be taking a vaccine if they don't have to. Unless I see very strong evidence of high reinfection rates or an explanation as to why this is the only virus antibodies don't protect you from my position on this won't change.

Yes, particularly if, as we've been told, doses are scarce. It's medical malpractice not to discourage healthy children and those who have the antibodies from taking the vaccine. It's unnecessary risk in addition to wasting of precious doses. And I've yet to hear anyone publicly proclaim it. 

I hope individual doctors are requiring antibody tests before administering this stuff and refusing to vaccinate these groups that absolutely do not need it. 

Common sense is totally irrelevant during a pandemic.  WHO never had much to begin with.   

[Meklown]

2 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said:

That was 1 in North America. I believe there's less than 10 in the world, and it's impossible to know if the initial tests were simply false positives. This would be consistent with everything we know about viruses and antibody protection, unlike what the WHO is spinning.

The WHO is essentially suggesting this virus behaves differently than everything we know about viruses and then tries to prove a negative saying there's no evidence that it's not different, so you'd better just take the vaccine to be safe. There's also no evidence I'm a unicorn that poops lucky charms.

NO ONE, ever, should be taking a vaccine if they don't have to. Unless I see very strong evidence of high reinfection rates or an explanation as to why this is the only virus antibodies don't protect you from my position on this won't change.

Yes, particularly if, as we've been told, doses are scarce. It's medical malpractice not to discourage healthy children and those who have the antibodies from taking the vaccine. It's unnecessary risk in addition to wasting of precious doses. And I've yet to hear anyone publicly proclaim it. 

I hope individual doctors are requiring antibody tests before administering this stuff and refusing to vaccinate these groups that absolutely do not need it. 

Apologies, I somehow missed that you specified North America! 

It's my opinion that WHO had erred on the side of conservative in terms of it's official advice. The early months of the pandemic saw them insisting that face coverings were not needed in public areas as there had been no previous evidence that this helped in any way. I haven't read any conclusive evidence on how long immunity lasts after a covid infection. Even for normal flu viruses, immunity eventually subsides after a period of time. 

I guess it's also hard to know who "absolutely" required a vaccine or not. There have been many recent cases of healthy 40yos with no known medical conditions dying within several days of infection. Under the established knowledge that it is generally 60+s who are in the at risk group, these people wouldn't be vaccinated but still die anyway. It would be hard to draw the line. 

It would be heartbreaking to see someone who refused to get vaccinated effectively "kill" a loved one by infecting them with the virus.

[Zigatoh]

3 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said:

That was 1 in North America. I believe there's less than 10 in the world, and it's impossible to know if the initial tests were simply false positives. This would be consistent with everything we know about viruses and antibody protection, unlike what the WHO is spinning.

The WHO is essentially suggesting this virus behaves differently than everything we know about viruses and then tries to prove a negative saying there's no evidence that it's not different, so you'd better just take the vaccine to be safe. There's also no evidence I'm a unicorn that poops lucky charms.

NO ONE, ever, should be taking a vaccine if they don't have to. Unless I see very strong evidence of high reinfection rates or an explanation as to why this is the only virus antibodies don't protect you from my position on this won't change.

Yes, particularly if, as we've been told, doses are scarce. It's medical malpractice not to discourage healthy children and those who have the antibodies from taking the vaccine. It's unnecessary risk in addition to wasting of precious doses. And I've yet to hear anyone publicly proclaim it. 

I hope individual doctors are requiring antibody tests before administering this stuff and refusing to vaccinate these groups that absolutely do not need it. 

So the biggest rollout of a vaccine ever, and you're saying we should do an antibody test on everybody before they get vaccinated?

And seeing as anyone can potentially pass on the virus, there isn't anyone who absolutely doesn't need it.

Also, if the antibodies fade after say a year, similar to flu for example, then you'd still need to start getting the vaccine next year anyway, and you may have no idea when you initially got infected so how long your antibodies will last, getting vaccinated gives you that information so you know when you need your next vaccination.

In the very short term trying to save doses for those who need it more makes sense, which is why they start with frontline nhs and older people, but it looks like most wealthy countries have ordered multiple times their entire population of doses (canada five times I think I read!) so longer term it makes more sense just to make sure everyone possible gets it to give the greatest chance of reducing the infection rate as much as possible. This also makes financial sense as the Oxford vaccine, once approved hopefully this year, costs £3 and the antibody test from one non profit organisation I checked costs £39!

[Cairo]

This thread (actually, the entire year of 2020!  ? ) reminds me of one of my favorite quotes:

“Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.”
― H.L. Mencken, Prejudices: First Series

 

[Nino]

No need to travel far - this is coming soon to your US workplace :

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/18/us/eeoc-employers-coronavirus-mandate.html?campaign_id=2&emc=edit_th_20201219&instance_id=25228&nl=todaysheadlines&regi_id=83141946&segment_id=47383&user_id=20e2ef107d129c8068f6a6f86ee4c0a5

Employers Can Require Workers to Get Covid-19 Vaccine, U.S. Says

The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said employees could be barred from the workplace if they refused the vaccine.

[Drguano]

As soon as word gets out that the vaccine enhances one's performance in the boudoir, people will be clamoring for the jab (no pun intended).

[Hammer Smokin']

of course employers are going to mandate vaccines. 

13 hours ago, Hammer Smokin' said:

This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone with their eyes open wide. 

and before any junior lawyers jump in, employers are obligated to make their work place a safe environment. 

enforcing mandatory vaccinations will be part of providing a safe workplace. 

before any junior lawyers jump and in a claim "muh rights". 

Remember, you aren't forced to work for the employer and you have rights to find alternate employment if you wish.  

[Yellot00tr]

CDC here gives you a Covid 19 Vaccination Card that shows your info, which vaccine you received, the lot number, and the date of each injection. As long as you have a record of it and can produce a copy when necessary, why deal with issuing more passports or bar codes, or chips. 
 

Schools may require vaccines for kids to go back. Why can’t employers? Get the vaccine, or work remotely. Sports teams will be an interesting case study for all of this-especially if members don’t want it and their unions file suits and grievances against their respective leagues. Those are powerful unions with ridiculous legal teams at their disposal. That could get interesting.

[Kaptain Karl]

13 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said:

 

That's incredible. So the WHO is telling us that they need evidence showing this virus is fundamentally the same as every other virus known to man?

So the fact that there has been only one single case of reinfection in North America (where an initial false positive can't be ruled out) isn't important to the WHO? 

Breaking: the WHO has no evidence that the sun will rise tomorrow and the jury is still out on whether objects with mass will fall down tomorrow.

By the way, if I have the antibodies, I'm going to resist getting this vaccine tooth and nail. 

THANK YOU!!!! 
 

This is proven scientifically too. 

https://uahs.arizona.edu/news/uarizona-health-sciences-study-shows-sars-cov-2-antibodies-provide-lasting-immunity

[ElJavi76]

NBC News: Millions forced to cancel Christmas as 'new variant' of coronavirus spreads in U.K..
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/uk-prime-minister-boris-johnson-calls-emergency-meeting-over-new-n1251803

Hold on... You might need that extra corona corona passport.

But wait... There's more! 2020 ain't over yet kids. 

[Baccy]

Employers can basically do anything they want in the USA.They can literally fire you for good reasons, bad reasons, or NO reason at all. So we will see how employers handle this. Are they going to provide the vaccine for free before firing someone for not taking it? Hopefully they will offer and suggest it the same way they do the Flu shot. I can see a huge mess if every employer in the country tried to forcibly inoculate every employee with the threat of termination for refusal. It's interesting we're having all these discussions and the shots aren't even available yet, at least not to the general public and not for some time...

[JZBdano]

Some employers are also footing the bill for covid health care.  In California  covid is covered under workers comp so why wouldn't they demand employees get vaccinated?  

[PigFish]

22 minutes ago, Baccy said:

Employers can basically do anything they want in the USA.They can literally fire you for good reasons, bad reasons, or NO reason at all. So we will see how employers handle this. Are they going to provide the vaccine for free before firing someone for not taking it? Hopefully they will offer and suggest it the same way they do the Flu shot. I can see a huge mess if every employer in the country tried to forcibly inoculate every employee with the threat of termination for refusal. It's interesting we're having all these discussions and the shots aren't even available yet, at least not to the general public and not for some time...

If this is done it will be the result of OSHA, not necessarily by the employer, but through the employer.

Employers must provide a 'safe' workplace. You only need ask one in manufacturing or construction about what damage OSHA can do to you for a host of reasons. OSHA can site you for real risks, like people walking untethered on the roof to 'housekeeping,' which is wholly subjective.

Not protecting employees from a known risk is in OSHA's wheelhouse. If a vaccine is a means to sideline OSHA, you bet employers will do it.