Israel will begin to accept the Russian-made coronavirus Sputnik vaccine for the purpose of allowing foreign nationals to enter the country only beginning December 1, the Tourism Ministry announced on Monday, the very same day when the country was officially supposed to recognize the vaccine.
Since November 1, non-Israeli citizens can travel to Israel as long as they are considered fully protected against the virus - inoculated twice within the previous six months, vaccinated with a booster, recovered with one shot, or recovered within the past six months - provided that they were jabbed with a vaccine recognized by the World Health Organization, JPOST (Jerusalem Post) reports.
The Sputnik has not been green-lighted by the WHO yet, but last month the Israeli authorities said that starting from November 15, foreigners inoculated with this vaccine would also be accepted as long as they underwent a serological test upon arrival in Israel and quarantine until receiving the results proving the presence of antibodies in their blood.
The rules are also currently published on the official government website featuring all traveling regulations as well as the entry statement form that every traveler is required to fill in within 48 hours before their flight to receive permission to enter Israel.
However, in the morning, the Tourism Ministry said in a statement that in light of “legal and technological difficulties that in the meantime have been discovered in the existing tourism outline, the entry of the vaccinated tourists in Sputnik will be allowed from 1.12.21.”
“By then, professionals will have completed all the requirements, legal formulations, and system checks so that the entry route for tourists vaccinated by Sputnik can start without problems,” the statement added.
According to the NGO Yad L’Olim, which supports new immigrants navigating the Israeli bureaucracy, including coronavirus travel regulations, on Monday several travelers vaccinated with Sputnik were not able to fill in the entry statement and not allowed to board their flights.
