By ILAN BEN ZION
\nAP News<\/p>\n
JERUSALEM (AP) \u2014 After spending much of the past year in lockdown, Tel Aviv makeup artist Artyom Kavnatsky was ready to get back to work. But when he showed up for a recent photo shoot, his employer turned him away. The reason? He had not been vaccinated against the coronavirus.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t take me because I didn\u2019t get vaccinated,\u201d Kavnatsky said. \u201cIt\u2019s discrimination, and it\u2019s not all right.\u201d<\/p>\n
The breakneck pace of Israel\u2019s vaccination drive has made it one of the few countries able to return to much of its pre-pandemic routine. Bars and businesses, hotels and health clubs have all sprung back to life in Israel, where some 80% of the adult population is fully vaccinated and new infections and COVID-19 deaths have plummeted.<\/p>\n
While Israel provides a glimpse of what may be possible with high immunization rates, it also offers insight into the problems that lie ahead: Workplaces and schools are now grappling with what to do with those who refuse to get vaccinated as the next phase in the pandemic again pits public health concerns against individual rights and possibly\u00a0new questions of equity<\/a>. One case has already ended up in court, and others are expected to.<\/p>\n Airlines\u00a0are already considering if vaccination, or a recent negative test, might be required for travel<\/a>, as is the European Union. Some officials in Britain and the United States are exploring if proof of immunization could help large-scale gatherings to return, though there remains significant resistance to such measures in the U.S. Whether a shot is necessary to go back to work or class is an even thornier question.<\/p>\n In many countries, the decisions may raise the prospect of further dividing populations along the lines of wealth and vaccine access. While the vast majority of the 100,000 Palestinians who live in the West Bank and have Israeli work permits have been vaccinated, immunization drives in the West Bank and Gaza have lagged far behind. Many parts of the world have received few, if any, vaccines.<\/p>\n So far, Israel has relied primarily on a series of incentives meant to encourage people to get a vaccine. It has established a \u201cgreen pass\u201d for the fully vaccinated whose holders can attend concerts, dine out, go to the gym or travel to popular vacation spots in places like Egypt, Cyprus and Greece. Those who do not have the pass are out of luck.<\/p>\n The system has worked well in areas of leisure and entertainment. But now, it is moving into other realms. Health officials have recommended barring unvaccinated workers who have not recently tested negative for COVID-19 from schools, elder care facilities and other high-risk workplaces.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s health care system has also mandated that all employees \u2014 doctors, nurses, administrators, and support staff alike \u2014 receive the coronavirus vaccine. If they refuse, they will be transferred to jobs that do not involve contact with high-risk patients.<\/p>\n Rights groups have expressed concern that such regulations could jeopardize workers\u2019 income.<\/p>\n Similar concerns exist in education. Tel Aviv University, Israel\u2019s largest, has found an uneasy balance for now.<\/p>\n As the university resumes in-person classes, Eyal Zisser, its deputy rector, said that only students who are vaccinated can be physically present. Those who are not can continue to learn remotely.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the initial stages, we are bringing back some of the students according to the green pass and making lessons accessible to the rest of the students,\u201d said Zisser.<\/p>\n Even with Israel\u2019s success, hundreds of thousands of people remain unvaccinated \u2014 some who are opposed to vaccines in general but many who are hesitant to take a shot that was developed so quickly. U.N., U.S. and European health experts have said the vaccines authorized by Israel are safe and effective.<\/p>\n Kavnatsky, the makeup artist, objects to vaccines and modern medicine more broadly, saying he doesn\u2019t want to put \u201cany needles in my body.\u201d He is not alone. He is one of over 15,000 members of a Hebrew-language anti-vaccine Facebook group who are critical of what they see as forced immunization by the state.<\/p>\n Rappeh, a political party headed by outspoken anti-vaccine advocate Aryeh Avni, garnered over 17,000 votes in last week\u2019s recent parliamentary elections. That was not enough to get into parliament but illustrates the challenge for policymakers.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s Health Ministry acknowledges its powers are limited.<\/p>\n \u201cWe cannot force people to vaccinate,\u201d said Einav Shimron, the ministry\u2019s deputy director for international relations.<\/p>\n The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, a nongovernmental organization that deals with labor issues, said that the long-term application of the green pass raises a potential civil rights issue, and has called on the government to pass legislation on the matter.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there is going to be a policy that infringes on the right to employment and on the right for a person to choose what to do with his or her body in order to be employed, then it needs to go through the legislative process,\u201d said spokeswoman Maya Fried. \u201cThere needs to be a public discussion.\u201d<\/p>\n In the meantime, the debate is already playing out in the courts.<\/p>\n In the first major decision on the topic, a Tel Aviv labor court in March allowed a day care center to bar a teaching assistant who who refused to get vaccinated or undergo coronavirus testing. The decision is expected to be appealed.<\/p>\n Dr. Nadav Davidovitch, the head of Israel\u2019s association of public health physicians, said he believes people have an obligation to get vaccinated, particularly given the evidence that the vaccine not only prevents the worst outcomes from COVID-19 but also\u00a0may reduce the spread of the virus.\u00a0<\/a>Israel, with 9.3 million people, has recorded at least 6,188 deaths since the pandemic began.<\/p>\n \u201cWe see vaccination as a solidarity act, not just an individual choice,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Still, he said he opposes forced vaccinations or firing people for refusing. Instead, he favors alternative approaches, from education to persuasion. Those who continue to refuse can perhaps be given different jobs, work remotely or undergo frequent testing.<\/p>\n Davidovitch, a former military epidemiologist, has experience with the issue. He said that well over 90% of Israeli recruits who did not want to be vaccinated when they enlisted ended up agreeing once they were educated by medical experts.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s a bad idea to move quickly to compulsion,\u201d he said. \u201cMost people are hesitant. They are not against vaccination in general.\u201d<\/p>\n