The Health Ministry announced Monday that recovered COVID-19 patients will now be eligible to receive a Green Pass with a serological test proving they have coronavirus antibodies and a single vaccine dose.
According to the new procedure,
“… a positive result in an anti-N serological test, which was performed in Israel according to the protocol approved by the Health Ministry, will be considered valid only upon completion of at least one vaccine dose — regardless of the order of the test and vaccine,” the ministry said in a statement.
Under Green Pass rules, entry to certain businesses and events are limited to those with proof of vaccination, a negative test result, or proof of recovery from COVID-19.
From October 3, when a number of new restrictions were introduced, recovered COVID-19 patients were also required to get a single coronavirus vaccine dose in order to be eligible for the Green Pass.
The new rules, which will be implemented immediately, allow those who have recovered to get a Green Pass without a second and third vaccine shot, as long as they still have antibodies in their system.
A similar system has already been in place for children aged 3-11, who are ineligible to receive the vaccine.
According to the Health Ministry, 1,327,720 Israelis have been infected with the virus since the start of the pandemic.
In total, 6,237,223 people in Israel have received a first vaccine dose, and over half of them — 3,954,003 people — have been given a third, or booster, shot.
Israel appears to be at the tail end of its fourth coronavirus wave, as new infections and serious cases have ticked down over the past few weeks.
As of Sunday, there were 218 serious COVID-19 “cases” in Israel, down from close to 750 a month ago.
Just 0.64 percent of those tested on Sunday came back positive, the lowest rate since the start of July.
There were 225 new diagnoses of the coronavirus on Sunday, taking the total caseload since the start of the pandemic to 1,327,458.
There were no new deaths reported on Sunday and the toll remained at 8,100.
Source: TOI