Health Ministry Director claims vaccines won't be forced, but Dr. Eyal Zimlichman tells Knesset committee 'they'll understand themselves.'

Although Health Ministry Director Hezy Levy yesterday insisted to reporters that "we won't force people to take a vaccine. Israeli law doesn't allow for it," speaking before the Special Knesset Coronavirus Committee chaired by MK Yifat Shasha-Biton, Sheba Medical Center Chief Medical Officer and Chief Innovation Officer Dr. Eyal Zimlichman listed measures that are being planned to "maneuver" the population into vaccinating as a way of regaining freedom of movement.

The issue of how to "motivate" vaccine compliance has generated increasing interest, with commentators such as Mike Cernovich writing: "Government won’t force you to take vaccine. Amazon will. Airlines will. Banks will. You won’t be able to buy, sell, or trade without the vaccine."

As if underscoring Cernovich's words, Dr. Zimlichman told the committee: "Another thing that will apparently come into our lives, starting in small numbers already in January which is soon, and that's the vaccine.

"If we're discussing how to create motivation for Israeli citizens to vaccinate, I agree, you can't force the population; it won't work. We can talk about it until tomorrow, it won't work.

"What is possible is to create motivation. Whoever is vaccinated will automatically receive 'green status'. Therefore, you may vaccinate, and receive Green Status to go freely in all the green zones: They'll open for you cultural events, they'll open to you the shopping malls, hotels, and restaurants.

"You may decide you're not vaccinating, and if you do want to enter these areas you'll need to submit to a PCR test, and therefore I believe people will understand by themselves that the vaccine will return them to regular life and they'll vaccinate themselves, without our obligating them.

"But the idea we're putting out is actually something that's starting already now, and we're floating an initial pilot we're testing and are ready to start with, based on the PCR and based on antigen, assuming it will be authored by the Health Ministry, we're in the process with the Ministry, and of course serology, and very quickly, already from January to add the vaccines - whoever is vaccinated may enter those green areas, that 'safe zone'.

"Assuming we're discussing a protracted period when part of the population will be vaccinated and part won't, for a year even, we see those areas growing in size, and those people who are vaccinated receive the pass to enter those green areas in the cities from the south to the north of the country."

israelnationalnews.com