‘I can’t wait to have a pint’ – meet the Irish expats in Israel ready to resume ‘normality’
IRISH expats in Israel who have received the Covid-19 vaccine will this weekend flash a green pass and be able to sit inside a restaurant for the first time in months.
Israel’s fastest-in-the-world vaccine programme has led to a drop in infections, while research by Israeli scientists shows the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is even more effective at preventing serious illness than previously hoped.
After a year of strict lockdowns, curfews and mandatory mask-wearing, snippets of normal life are starting to resume for the nine million people living there.
“This is really Irish but I can’t wait to have my first pint,” said Meath woman Paula Fay (41), who got her second jab.
More than half the population has so far been inoculated with the first dose.
Ms Fay moved to Tel Aviv with her husband and two sons, Odhrán and Oisín, in September 2019. Plans to return home last summer were scuppered by the pandemic and, for the first time in a long time, she now feels confident she will get back to see her family, but not until the situation improves in Ireland.
“The health system here is digitised, so they can do everything a lot quicker,” she said. “I feel very lucky to be 41 and already have the vaccine, but it’s disappointing my family in Ireland might not have it until much later in the year.
“They treated it so seriously from the start here and everything was very military-like.
“Covid testing is available all over the city 24/7 and you get your results back in 24 hours. If they had vaccines left over, they were going out onto the street and bringing people into vaccine centres to get it.”
Ms Fay, who is a make-up artist, has been out of work for long periods due to lockdowns. Being confined to the family apartment with two small kids wasn’t easy.
Authorities in Israel will reopen restaurants, cafes and event halls this Sunday. Gyms and hotels are already open for those who are vaccinated.
People who have received the second dose are eligible to get the green pass, a QR code that can be scanned via a smartphone app that’s linked to a person’s health organisation. Restaurants and shops will scan the code to check the vaccine status of customers.
Those who have had the second jab will be permitted to sit inside.
“I would love to go see a band and listen to live music,” Ms Fay said. “Everything is outdoorsy here due to the good weather, so hopefully I’ll be able to do that soon.”
All passenger flights in and out of Israel were banned in January to prevent new variants from getting a foothold.
Daniel Rosehill (32), from Co Cork but now living in Jerusalem, has also been vaccinated. “Even being able to go out once a week for pizza or a beer will be a massive relief as I’ve been more or less at home for a year,” he said.
There is still some uncertainty around when he’ll be able to get back to Ireland to visit his mother.
“The [Israeli] government has only just started easing the closure of the airport and is currently limiting exits and entries to a few destinations, and only for those who have been vaccinated,” he said. “There aren’t any direct flights between Ireland and Israel so getting back to Ireland isn’t simple at the best of times.”
Mr Rosehill is asthmatic, so is relieved to be vaccinated.
“I think the vaccine roll-out in Israel has been excellent. Israel is called the start-up nation. But in many respects, the country is, itself, a start-up.
“In a start-up, things need to move quickly. There isn’t always time for quality assurance. The end product can be a little buggy. On a per capita basis, Israel’s vaccination program leads the world. But there are kinks in the system.
“People have been reporting difficulties accessing the green passport app. The messages from authorities have been a bit confusing at times. But for the most part, it works.
“Israel excels in logistics and has widespread use of electronic medical records. It also isn’t an EU member state and was willing to do rather unusual things like send its intelligence agency out looking for supplies.”
Mr Rosehill, who grew up Jewish in Cork, moved to Jerusalem five years ago and now lives there with his wife.
“It’s a small Irish community but if there are any Irish people here, they’d be more likely to be living and working in Tel Aviv than Jerusalem.”
While the vaccine roll-out in Israel has been a huge success, it hasn’t been without its blips. The Israeli government has been condemned for not providing more vaccines to Palestinian territories.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had ordered tens of thousands of vaccines to be sent to Europe, Latin America and Africa, but this plan was aborted after it drew criticism as many Palestinians are still waiting to be vaccinated.
Health officials are now also seeing a drop in people presenting for the vaccine. The Times of Israel reported that one vaccine centre had to throw out 1,000 vials which had expired. The Pfizer vaccine being used in Israel expires quickly after being removed from deep freeze.
There has also been an issue with groups defying Covid-19 regulations. Over the course of the pandemic, police have clashed with ultra-Orthodox protesters who have been resisting coronavirus rules.
“There has been a bit of tension here,” Ms Fay said. “Some groups haven’t been adhering to the rules and have been reopening schools when they were ordered to close, having large weddings and funerals when they weren’t allowed to.
“This is what led to numbers initially going so high. You get fined €200 for not wearing a mask outside and some people were refusing to.”
The Israeli government is using celebrity faces and unique ideas to try and encourage compliance and vaccine uptake.
Businesses have also been thinking outside the box. One Israeli bar doubled as a Covid19 vaccination clinic and is providing free drinks to those who get the shot.
Launched
While bars are closed in Israel, Tel Aviv’s Jenia gastropub launched a free-drink-withyour-vaccine initiative.
Shane Walsh, from Newbridge, Co Kildare, lives in Tel Aviv and received his dose of the Covid-19 vaccine yesterday. “I had a mild enough version of Covid, I didn’t have a temperature but I had headaches and no taste or smell. That came back after a couple of weeks, thankfully, as it was the weirdest thing,” he said.
“It’s crazy as I got my shot yesterday and my grandparents in Ireland, who are over 85, only got theirs yesterday too. The over-85s were done here back in January.”
Mr Walsh, who moved to Tel Aviv 11 years ago, said: “I can’t wait to sit in a bar or restaurant with my husband and really get back to normal life.
“I am looking forward to being able to mix more now that I’m vaccinated.
“It really has been ‘all hands on deck’ here. You can literally walk in off the street and get a vaccine. If you want a test, there’s loads of places.
“On the weekends, they have mobile vaccination units around the city.
“They’re giving pizza, coffee and soup when you get your shot. It’s amazing.”