Defending MK of his party who publicly said he would not get the coronavirus vaccine, Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman falsely said Saturday night that “we know nothing about the vaccine” and confirmed his opposition. getting people vaccinated.
His comments, which come amid a slowdown in the Israeli vaccination campaign, drew an immediate appeal from health officials who warned it could provoke public suspicion about the vaccine costing lives.
When asked if he supported the proposal to impose sanctions on people who refuse to be vaccinated, Liberman said such measures had gone too far.
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“You need to have the vaccine but compulsory vaccination is not appropriate. We don’t know anything about the vaccine, I don’t know how long it is effective, ”he said. However, he admitted, “There is nothing better.” It’s best for people to go and get the vaccine. ”
The Ministry of Health intends to ban Israelis who refuse vaccination against the coronavirus and impose sanctions on businesses that accept unvaccinated consumers.
Officials are looking to restrict access to gyms, hotels, restaurants and cultural and sporting events to those who refuse to get vaccinated, while those who are protected and those who recently performed a negative test, entered freely.
Liberman said he would not support such moves and that it was wrong to punish people for being willing to get the bullet, including that of his party. 4 Eli Avidar, who said Friday that he would not be vaccinated because he was not in a high-risk group.
Yisrael Beytenu MK Eli Avidar at the Knesset on April 29, 2019. (Noam Revkin Fenton / Flash90)
Liberman said Avidar should be allowed to believe what he wants.
“He believes in yoga, veganism and sports… Man believes in other things and should be respected,” Liberman said.
Speaking to Radio 103, Avidar said, “I have a lot to say about this campaign which is starting to put pressure on the country and aims to vaccinate everyone who moves, when they shouldn’t. for him, and that he should only vaccinate people in risk group. . ”
“I’m telling you I won’t get the vaccine and I’ll also tell you why – I’m not in danger, I’m not afraid, I’m feeling healthy, I’m keeping myself healthy, so why should I have the vaccine? “”
Responding to Liberman ‘s comments, former coronavirus czar and Ichilov Tel Aviv Hospital chief Ronni Gamzu rejected the idea “we know nothing about the vaccines” and said it was careless to spread such a decontamination .
“I know a lot about vaccines; we know that the dynamics of vaccination in the tens of millions have been vaccinated around the world, ”Gamzu told public broadcaster Kan. “MK Liberman may not know much about the vaccine, but science does.”
Coronavirus czar Ronni Gamzu at the City of Jerusalem, on October 13, 2020. (Yonatan Sindel / Flash90)
“This vaccine works, and it works well,” he said. “Young people who don’t feel the disease spread it to people who may be very ill.”
The issue of vaccine laziness and immunization is a growing concern as the worldwide Israeli inoculation campaign has slowed in recent weeks. Some 3,832,387 Israelis have received the first dose of the vaccine and 2,464,280 have received both doses – nearly a quarter of the total population.
“At the beginning of the [vaccination] We have become accustomed to circulating between 100,000 and 120,000 people a day, and in the last few days we are barely reaching half of those numbers, ”said Kalanit Kaye, manager Clalit vaccine campaign, on Ynet news site last week, blamed online “Fake News” for promoting vaccine suspicion.
Anti-vaccine slogans and graffiti spray painted on vaccine center walls, 5 January 2021. (Yossi Aloni / FLASH90)
Facebook on Tuesday dismissed a group with 12,000 members associated with popular Israeli rabbi Amnon Yitzhak who revealed false news about the pandemic and the vaccine.
The group came out of the social media platform after the Ministry of Health urged Facebook to post anti-vaxxers who were bragging about their benefits.
The social media giant has vowed to keep anti-vaxxers and those who spread fake vaccine information off its platform. Also last week, the Israeli media reported that the claims of a popular rabbi against vaccination fueled fears that a coronavirus had been shot in Israel and that health officials had been blamed for slowing down the country’s vaccination campaign.
Facebook said Monday that it was building efforts to stop the worldwide spread of misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, spreading facts, and finding out who might be taking them. longing. The move includes a ban on organizations re-disseminating false information and debating claims about the virus and vaccines.