Gov’t may issue special travel measures to stop Indian variant
With enough supplies, Israel looks to re-route AstraZeneca vaccines
Authorities are holding discussions whether it is necessary to issue special travel regulations in light of the spreading of the British variant, a government official told The Jerusalem Post.
Speaking to Army Radio on Wednesday, coronavirus commissioner Prof. Nachman Ash said Israel has what to worry regarding the Indian variant.
“I hope that within a few weeks this concern will no longer be relevant as we can prove that the vaccine is effective against this variant,” he said, adding that the issue is being studied but no results are available yet.
He said they are closely monitoring travelers from India, including foreign workers, and are considering requiring them to quarantine in a hotel.
According to Ynet, authorities are weighing issuing a travel warning against several countries where morbidity is high, including India, Ukraine, Mexico and Ethiopia, as well as to demand foreign nationals who enter Israel from those nations to isolate in a hotel.
Ash also reaffirmed that there are no certainties yet on when a vaccine booster will be needed, a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told citizens to get ready to be jabbed again in six months.
The commissioner also said Israel no longer wants AstraZeneca’s vaccine and is exploring with the company whether a big shipment in the pipeline could be sent elsewhere.
“We are trying to find the best solution. After all, we don’t want [the vaccines] to get here and have to throw them into the trash,” he told Army Radio, saying Israel’s needs were being met by other suppliers.
In his remarks, Ash made no reference to AstraZeneca’s vaccine having been associated with very rare blood clots in Europe. Many countries there resumed administering it after the EE’s drug watchdog said the benefits outweighed the risks.
Israel casted a wide net last year when trying to secure vaccine doses at the height of the pandemic and preordered from a number of companies.
It largely settled on the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, launching one of the world’s swiftest rollouts. COVID-19 infections in Israel have dropped dramatically and the economy has reopened.
Israel is also buying vaccines from Moderna, which uses a similar messenger RNA (mRNA) technology.
Ash said that with supplies secure through 2022, Israel no longer required the 10 million doses it agreed to purchase from AstraZeneca.
“They can certainly be used in other places in the world. At the moment, we are trying to find, along with the company, the best way to do this,” he said.
Officials at AstraZeneca had no immediate comment.
Ash also talked about the outline of Lag Ba’omer, which falls on Thursday next week.
The day is traditionally marked with bonfires, and in normal years dozens of thousands gather at Mt. Meron to celebrate.
The commissioner said only green passport holders – people
who are fully vaccinated or have recovered – will be able to attend the festivities.
“We agreed to an outline for reaching Mt. Meron, but we cannot say that there are not any risks,” he said.