New doc valid through 2021 to replace recovery, vaccine papers
The Health Ministry is working on replacing the vaccination and recovery certificates with a new document, an individual certificate that will be valid until the end of 2021, a spokesperson for the ministry said on Thursday.
According to the spokesperson, some recovery certificates in Israel are expected to expire as early as June 30. Their holders will therefore be able to receive new documentation attesting their coronavirus status.
When Israel started its vaccination campaign at the end of December, the certificates it issued to fully immunized individuals – a week after the second shot – had a validity of six months. Health officials and experts were waiting to see how long the protection granted by the vaccine would last, with the idea that a booster might be needed as early as half a year after the completion of the process.
Vaccinated and recovered Israelis became entitled to a green pass in order to access several venues and activities, which also had a validity of six months.
By the beginning of May, as time had gone by and the immunity continued to last, the Health Ministry extended the validity of the green pass until the end of 2021, adding that Israelis would likely not need another shot until that point.
As the morbidity in the country plummeted, Israel dropped its green pass system at the beginning of June.
However, coronavirus documentation remains important for many purposes. Those who are vaccinated or recovered are exempt from quarantine if they return from abroad or if they come in contact with an identified corona patient.
In addition, there are countries abroad that accept Israeli certificates in order to allow in the travelers or to permit them to skip the isolation period. As it happened in Israel, until last month, a vaccination or recovery certificate is sometimes necessary to access selected activities, such as cultural venues.
In the meantime, those whose original vaccination certificates expired after six months, can already download their new one valid until December 31 from the Health Ministry’s website.
The current certificate, as well as the new certificate that the ministry is working on, are going to be valid until the end of 2021 also for those who are just getting vaccinated now, in spite of the fact that their immunity will likely last longer than that.