Greece, Israel agreed on controversial covid-19 ‘vaccine passport’ scheme

Greece and Israel in their efforts to revive the touristic sector have agreed on the covid19 ‘vaccine passport’ scheme, The National has learned.

Israel’s health minister confirmed that about two-thirds of eligible Israelis have already had first shot of the covid-19 vaccine, as the country administers doses at by far the highest rate anywhere. Such a move would let its citizens visit Greece and a handful of other tourist-hungry nations.

This week, Tel Aviv announced a deal with Greece on mutual recognition of jabs, allowing for eventual quarantine-free travel, a so-called ‘vaccine passport’ scheme.

Israel is proposing “vaccination certificates as an enabler for the movement of people between countries,” said the top economic official. The Foreign Affairs Ministry says it’s discussing a similar scheme with Cyprus and Seychelles.

Those certificates may be a precursor to the “vaccine passports” some countries are planning as they planned to revive their touristic flows. However, a ‘vaccine passportization’ looks not so attractive for many other countries.