Israel to bar unvaccinated people from some jobs, says health minister
Israel’s health minister has confirmed the country plans to stop unvaccinated people from working in certain jobs but failed to elaborate on what they might be, adding anyone found forging vaccine certificates will be jailed.
“There will soon be jobs where, in order to work, the workers will have to either be vaccinated or undergo a Covid-19 test every 48 hours,” Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said on Thursday.
Flanked by senior Ministry of Health officials, Edelstein did not elaborate on which jobs people would be excluded from, but he urged everyone to get vaccinated in order to help bring life back to “almost normal.”
“[The] vaccinated and those people who have had the virus will be able to go to gyms, concerts, hotels, synagogues from Sunday,” the minister stated, as he discussed the impact of Israel’s ‘green pass’ system which comes into force on February 21.
The pass, which will be granted to those who have taken the jab and those who are recovering from Covid-19, will allow many Israelis to take advantage of a Covid-19 restrictions rollback which also takes effect on Sunday.
Edelstein said that authorities had already confiscated a number of fake vaccination documents and warned that anyone found forging vaccine certificates would face jail time.
Israel is leading the world in vaccinations, with almost seven million jabs administered – the equivalent of 79 doses per 100 people. The nation has also seen falling Coivd-19 deaths, reporting zero fatalities in an observation of 523,000 people who were fully vaccinated.
Israel to bar unvaccinated people from some jobs, says health minister
Vatican says employees who refuse Covid-19 vaccine could lose their jobs
The Vatican has effectively made Covid-19 vaccination mandatory for its employees, warning those who decline to receive the shot that they could face dismissal.
In a seven-page decree, Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, head of the commission governing Vatican City State, said that getting the jab was "the responsible choice" and that those who refuse to do so could risk termination. The guideline points to a 2011 law which stipulates that employees who refuse “preventive measures” could be disciplined.
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The new policy will allow people with legitimate health reasons to forgo the shot, but such personnel might be reassigned to positions that would have contact with fewer people. Their pay would remain the same even if the new assignment is a demotion.
Bertello himself tested positive for Covid-19 in December and was quarantined in his apartment until he was cleared to return to his regular duties.
Vatican City State, the world’s smallest independent nation-state, has a population of around 800 people, but employs more than 4,000 people.
Pope Francis has been an outspoken proponent of global vaccine drives against the virus. In an interview last month, the pontiff said that getting the shot was an “ethical choice” because “you are gambling with your health… [and] also gambling with the lives of others.”
However, none of the vaccines currently on the market have undergone studies showing that they prevent transmission or slow the spread of the virus.
Francis received his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech drug a day after the Vatican began its vaccination program on January 13. He received his second shot in early February.
Vatican says employees who refuse Covid-19 vaccine could lose their jobs