The Labor, Welfare and Health Committee, headed by MK Haim Katz, today (Tuesday) approved for second and third reading a government bill that will allow the Ministry of Health to pass information on those who have not been vaccinated to local authorities, the Ministry of Education and welfare ministry operators.
The Knesset discusses the law for the transmission of information on vaccinators // The Knesset Channel
According to the proposed arrangement as a temporary order for three months, the information will be transmitted in order to allow the above bodies to encourage people to get vaccinated, among other things through personal contact, clarification of the reasons for non-vaccination and assistance in accessing the information and the vaccine itself.
Advocate Anat Maimon, the committee’s spokesperson, explained that the information provided would include name, ID number, address and telephone number. For those who received only one vaccine dose and did not arrive on time to receive the second dose, the date of receipt of the first vaccine dose will also be passed. She also clarified that the wording speaks of those who are allowed to be vaccinated, ie only adults, and explained that a person who has been approached for the purpose of encouraging immunization is given the option to remove himself from the lists and not be contacted again.
Advocate Talia Agmon, Deputy Health Ministry Spokeswoman, explained: “The rationale behind the bill is that bodies like local authorities and the Ministry of Education know better to reach people, understand why they are not vaccinated, what is bothering them, whether they need more information or assistance. The plan is that the information will only reach the person who actively requests it from the Ministry of Health and say what they intend to do – ideas, methods and work and on this basis the director general of the ministry will decide whether there is any benefit in transmitting the information. “
Advocate Amit Amir, Ministry of Justice, explained: “According to this legislation, the information will be used solely to encourage immunization and any other use may be prohibited. It is obligatory to restrict access holders, to sign an undertaking to maintain confidentiality and to delete the information at the end of use in order to balance the invasion of privacy. “
Reuven Eidelman, spokesman for the Privacy Protection Authority, said: “There is a precedent-setting move here to involve local authorities in aspects of public health. The committee should examine whether the advantage that local authorities have in encouraging immunization is such that it justifies personal information about each and every resident, as opposed to statistical information. “
In response, committee chairman Haim Katz said: “How many people need to die for it to be considered justified? five? ten? Is privacy more important than the right to life? We are in an epidemic and the Corona is not thinking logically. It attacked older people, now pregnant women and those who do not knock an account and do not get vaccinated endanger other people. Anyone who accidentally kills a person on the road in one moment of distraction may go to jail, and here – nothing? This law comes as a first step. I hope that in the next step they will tell those who have not been vaccinated – do not come to work. If it was up to me, that’s how it was. We would have come out of it and we would not have been beautiful. “
MK Karin Elharar, “There is a future,” said: “I am in favor of vaccination and call on everyone to go vaccinated, but the bill leaves a lot of question marks. After all, the transfer of information in itself does not encourage immunization. I want to know exactly what you intend to do with the information? Are you going to do shaming for people? Prevent people from working? Will they pass on the information without knowing what to do with it? Things need to be sharpened. “
MK Osama Saadi: It is clear that the sanctity of life is more important than anything, but opposing this law does not mean opposing immunization. If there is no obligation to vaccinate, why infringe on individual rights? Have alternatives been examined? In response, the committee’s chairman, MK Haim Katz, said: “Because they will not answer and then when entire classes stick together they will say – why did you not do? It is time to do.”
The chairman of the Association of Public Health Physicians, Prof. Hagai Levin, said: “I am of course in favor of immunization and the local authorities have an important role in encouraging immunization at the city, neighborhood level, according to statistics. But at the individual level it is the role of the medical authorities. If a person does not want to be vaccinated out of medical concerns it should be between him and his doctor, his HMO and I do expect any person who has not been vaccinated to get a call from his HMO. But people do not have to explain why we did not vaccinate a stranger who calls them and asks questions. They will feel that their personal information is exposed and there will be a breach of trust, which is the key to getting people vaccinated. “
Dr. Shelley Kamin Friedman, Institute of Others, said: “We believe that no less abusive means of individual rights have been exhausted. If there is a benefit in the information that the local authorities have, they should pass it on to the health authorities and not the other way around. “Adv. Rachel Avidor Hershkovitz of the Israel Democracy Institute added:” The definition of authorized access to information seems too broad to us. “In addition, before giving information to a local authority, the approval of the Privacy Protection Authority and the national cyber system must be obtained to ensure the security of the information.”
The head of the Justice and Knesset Administration at the Shiva Local Government Center, Adv. Mira Salomon, said: “The local authorities are ready to embark on the effort knowing that it can save lives. People do not come to get vaccinated for various reasons that are not necessarily medical, such as the fear of getting infected at vaccine centers or public transport on the way and these are things where the local authority can help. We believe that information should also be obtained about vaccinated and recovering people, among other things, for future initiatives such as safe areas, such as educational institutions that will be opened for children based on the immunization of their family members. ”