The law that gives authorities access to information about vaccinators: All questions -…


Yesterday, the Knesset approved an amendment to the government’s legislation for “public health deposits”, which will allow the Ministry of Health to pass on information about vaccinators and non-vaccinators to local authorities and the Ministries of Education and Welfare. The decision provoked outrage and widespread public criticism, especially among human rights organizations – some of which have already stated that they will petition the High Court on the matter. What does the government decision mean?

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What information will be transferred?

The amendment to the Public Health Ordinance allows the Ministry of Health to transmit information that includes the names and identity cards of vaccinators relevant to the local authority, the Ministry of Education or the Ministry of Welfare. In the case of non-vaccinated – in addition to ID numbers and names, it will also be possible to transfer residential addresses and telephone numbers.

What is the purpose of the law?

The amendment to the law is intended to help local authorities and government ministries raise the immunization rate by passing on information that will help focus the outreach processes on those people who have not yet been vaccinated.

How long will the information transmitted be stored?

The decision was given under a 60-day temporary order. That is, whoever receives the information about the vaccinated and non-vaccinated will have to destroy it within two months of receiving it. “The law introduces various mechanisms that help protect citizens’ privacy by requiring access to information only to defined officials who are required to sign a confidentiality undertaking,” explained Adv. Ella Tevet, head of intellectual property at the law firm Gross. It must be deleted at the end of use and no later than 60 days after receipt. “The law gives a person who has been approached for the purpose of encouraging immunization the option of demanding that his details be deleted and that they not be contacted again.

Knesset Plenum (Photo: Knesset Channel)
The plenum approved the amendment to the law on second and third reading | Photo: Knesset Channel

Will all local authorities receive information about the vaccinated?

No. Only those who submit an orderly request and receive approval from the Ministry of Health will be exposed to the data. The information will be passed on to the authorities subject to an active request and the presentation of a plan to encourage immunization among the population included in the database. The person who receives approval from the Director General of the Ministry of Health will be given the names, ID numbers, addresses and telephone numbers of citizens who are allowed to be vaccinated and have not done so. For those who received only one vaccine and did not arrive on time, the first vaccine will be given.

Can my city of residence impose bans on non-vaccinated people?

The law prohibits anyone who receives information from preventing receiving essential services from people who have not been vaccinated. The information provided will be used solely to encourage immunization. Advocate Tevet explained the decision: “Sharing personal information, especially between authorities, entails risks to the privacy of the citizens of the country and in any case of such sharing, it is the responsibility of the legislature to ensure that the State of Israel does not legislate laws that affect its citizens’ right to privacy. Proportionate. It seems that in the case before us, the legislature actually tried to create a proper balance between the right to privacy and the right to life, provided that the provisions of the law are implemented as worded. “

How many Knesset members voted in favor of the law?

30 Knesset members voted in favor of the bill, including: MK Haim Katz, Avi Dichter and Nir Barkat (Likud), Yaakov Margi Winon Azulai (Shas) and Rafi Peretz (Jewish House). 13 opposed the law, including: Merav Michaeli (Labor), Tamar Zandberg, Nitzan Horowitz and Yair Golan (Meretz), Miki Haimovich (blue and white), Ofer Kasif, Osama Saadi and Hiba Yazbek (joint list). The other Knesset members were not present in the plenum at the time of the vote.

Immunity against Corona (Photo: Yossi Aloni, Flash 90)
Immunity to Corona | Photo: Yossi Aloni, Flash 90

What is the reason for opposing the law?

Some believe that the law causes a disproportionate invasion of privacy, before other alternatives that may encourage immunization to the same extent have been examined – even without seriously infringing on the individual’s freedoms. The Association for Civil Rights together with the Physicians for Human Rights Association and other organizations are expected to soon file a petition to the High Court against the implementation of the law.

Einat Ovadia, director of the Zulat Institute for Equality and Human Rights, said: “The approved law violates a serious and humane violation of the right to privacy, without sufficient medical justifications, and without exhausting other means, which are less harmful to individual rights, to encourage immunization and public persuasion. The approved law will only entrench pockets of resistance to the vaccine in their position, while on the way their fundamental rights are violated. “Every public figure who voted for the law will ask himself whether a border has not been crossed here and the vaccination campaign has become a net election campaign without looking back at the scorched earth of human rights he leaves behind.”

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