Seminary in Israel next year-must vaccinate?

amother

Brunette

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 8:53 am

Do people think Israel will take kids who are willing to vaccinate but haven't been able to get one, and vaccinate them when they get there? Most 17 and 18 year olds aren't eligible now, and won't be for awhile. In particular, the 17 year olds are a challenge because they can only get Pfizer, so a lot of the places giving them don't work (by me, most locations are giving Moderna, and some won't commit to which you get in advance.)

Amarante

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 9:19 am

Vaccines will be required - you can count on it. By the end of summer, vaccines will be available to anyone who wants them in the US and other countries.

Even the EU is considering a "green passport" for travel as soon as vaccines becomes available to all who want them.

There is nothing new about requiring vaccination against diseases to enter countries. It used to be standard to get vaccinated before foreign travel.

The COVID vaccine disinformation campaign including the misinformation regarding infertility is just that - misinformation spread by social media and often spread by anti-vaxxers and others on the fringes who peddle in crackpot conspiracy theories. They spread it - often because they make money from it and then super-spreaders disperse it into the world where it winds up being believed by the gullible.

juggling

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 9:21 am

[quote="DrMom"]Those who are getting covid are overwhelmingly the unvaccinated.

/quote]
This, exactly. The vaccination was done in stages, so while most elderly people have been vaccinated, at this point the people in the last group to be offered the vaccine are just reaching their 4 weeks immunity level now. And many people, for whatever reason, didn't grab the first opportunity to vaccinate. So they are still giving thousands of first doses every day. We aren't there yet.

amother

Gray

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 9:51 am

I hope everyone entering israel will have to be vaccinated or have had corona.
Then again, people can (and are as per a news story last week or two ago) lie about being vaccinated.
But to let people in that are not vaccinated would sort of erase the whole reason why the airport is basically closed.

I know kids want to spend the year in Israel but this has to be done correctly and using sechel.

amother

Pink

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 10:06 am

amother [ Lawngreen ] wrote:

This is terribly sad and breaks my heart. I don’t wish this virus on anyone.

But I do find it interesting that this is going on in the country with the highest vaccination rates and still nobody can even entertain the idea that something might be off with them.

Pchhhh this started in November and has been getting worse since then (as the British mutation spread). Bibi got the first vaccine in the country in December 19.

And pretty much ALL of these people in serious condition, on ventilators, hospitalized, are unvaccinated.

This has nothing to do with the vaccine and everything to do with the mutation.

amother

Pink

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 10:09 am

amother [ Brunette ] wrote:

I see no reason why not, so long as we have the doses available. There may be a fee involved, though.

amother

Azure

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 10:11 am

Unfortunately a lot of people's dreams have changed the past year . people who registered their children for seminary this year had no idea what was coming when they put their deposits down the vaccines weren't really out by the time they left and didn't realize they would have to make such a choice mid-year. Applying for somebody for next year you had to know how Israel is handling covid. and how the vaccines are you had to know there was a chance you would need to get vaccinated to go. You can't falt the seminary after dealing with such a hard time last year and this year to require the vaccine. So the choice is yours let her get the vaccine and send her or find a local sem and keep her home

Amarante

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 10:11 am

The variants are much more infectious and so the likelihood of being infected by contact with another person is higher. There is also tentative evidence that the variants produce more serious illnesses.

Also - some of the variants appear to less impacted by previous disease. In other words, having Corona does not necessarily protect you against the variant. Vaccines produce much better antibodies and so would be more protective against the variants than having the disease.

As others have pointed out, thankfully at this point it appears to be spreading ONLY among the unvaccinated.

One of the reasons why getting people vaccinated as quickly as possible is to stop - to the extent possible - ever more lethal and infectious variant are more likely to occur when there are higher numbers of people getting infected.

shabbatiscoming

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 10:14 am

amother [ Pink ] wrote:

I see no reason why not, so long as we have the doses available. There may be a fee involved, though.

As of right now, nobody who is not vaccinated is allowed into the country, so I dont see how they would allow sem and yeshiva students in, if they are not already vaccinated.

amother

Mistyrose

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 10:18 am

amother [ Blue ] wrote:

Israel purchased moderna, but not sure they have used it yet on any citizens.
I would be surprised if vaccines with 60% success rate will be accepted (I believe those are the rates for JJ and AZ).

https://www.astrazeneca.com/me......html

Most importantly, AstraZeneca vaccine protects 100% agains severe disease. Which is the most important thing. Check out link above which shows efficacy is actually higher than 60% and also increases with doses spaced out further. The UK are obviously the country giving it out the most, and it looks like their risky vaccination programme of spreading out doses 12 weeks apart has paid off.

amother

Pink

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 10:21 am

shabbatiscoming wrote:

As of right now, nobody who is not vaccinated is allowed into the country, so I dont see how they would allow sem and yeshiva students in, if they are not already vaccinated.

Simple. They offer the first dose at the airport, set up a clinic before customs. Anyone on a student visa presents the slip MDA gave them to customs, or Israeli darkon yarok, or isn't allowed in.

The schools must keep all students on campus for 3-4 weeks, then MDA makes the rounds, gives the second dose, and they are free to go wherever the rest of vaccinated Israel can.

It's worth it for Israel because these are year-lopng tourists who support our economy and provide jobs for thousands if not tens of thousands.

shabbatiscoming

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 10:23 am

amother [ Pink ] wrote:

Simple you say? Smile

Nothing in Israel ever happens that way.
While your idea might be a good one, I dont think it will ever happen.

amother

Azure

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 10:24 am

juggling

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 10:29 am

shabbatiscoming wrote:

As of right now, nobody who is not vaccinated is allowed into the country, so I dont see how they would allow sem and yeshiva students in, if they are not already vaccinated.

That's not accurate. People who aren't vaccinated are allowed in. They must test before they board, and again when they land, and isolate when they get here, usually in an isolation hotel.

Amarante

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 10:39 am

juggling wrote:

That's not accurate. People who aren't vaccinated are allowed in. They must test before they board, and again when they land, and isolate when they get here, usually in an isolation hotel.

I think the issue is what will be done by the end of summer. At that point, vaccines will be widely available for all age groups so not being vaccinated will be an individual decision.

It seems highly unlikely that Israel is going to admit people who are not vaccinated at that point. Why should they when they led the way in terms of getting as many people in the country vaccinated as quickly as possible. They are being praised and envied by other countries for the vaccination success.

No one has the right to enter a country and spread pestilence when there is a scientifically sound way to protect the rest of the people living there.

While vaccines are a miracle in terms of their effectiveness, they aren't 100% protective. They may or may not be given to children by the end of the summer so they are vulnerable. Also vaccines are not 100% effective and so there is a possibility that someone who is vaccinated could still contract the disease. This might be especially true if one of the variants is brought into the country by someone who is not vaccinated.

wiki

Tue, Mar 02 2021, 10:58 am

Here's some advice, OP:

Are you worried that the vaccine will cause some as-yet-undocumented infertility?

While there is no reasonable medical basis for this fear, you're correct that the vaccines are new, and pregnancy is long, and there just hasn't been a lot of time to learn more.

If this is your concern, I'd recommend signing your daughter up for seminary and waiting on the vaccine until late July.

By then, we will have detailed data about millions of health care workers who were vaccinated in December and January, and about their subsequent fertility. By then, you'll be able to use facts to get over your fear of infertility and get your daughter vaccinated without worry.

Or, in a crazy unlikely scenario, we might have data by then indicating fertility issues in the young women who were the first to get the vaccine, chas veshalom. And if we do find that, then you should call up the seminary in late July and try to reason with them for an exception for your daughter. By then, you'd have factual evidence and not just fears to back up your position.

Good luck!

(Full disclosure: I think the fears are baseless and I signed up for a vaccine in January on the first day I was eligible. Everyone who feels comfortable about it should do the same!)