Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality, Ichilov Hospital vaccination center for foreign nationals commences operations
Photos of the vaccination center (Credit: Guy Yechiely): http://bit.ly/2OhKceN
Tel Aviv-Yafo, February 10 – Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality and Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov Hospital) opened yesterday, Tuesday (February 9, 2021), a vaccination center for foreign nationals atThe Platform in the city’s Neve Shaanan neighborhood.
More than 650 foreign nationals received vaccines on the first day of operations at the center, which includes 14 vaccination booths operated by hospital staff.
Registration for vaccinations at the center is open to foreign nationals in the city above the age of 16, possessing either a 5(A)2 asylum seeker visa or a B/1 work visa, and migrant workers who entered Israel prior to March 2020.
The vaccination center will operate Sunday to Thursday between 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Friday between 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Vaccinations are administered according to guidelines determined by the Ministry of Health, and extended operating hours will be considered at a later date.
Vaccinations are free of charge and eligible vaccine recipients simply need to bring a passport or visa. Arrivals at the center will not be checked by immigration authorities.
The Platform, a municipal entrepreneurship center seeking to drive local innovation in Neve Shaanan and surrounding neighborhoods, has been converted in recent days to efficiently vaccinate the foreign national population. The center’s activities, including a recent coding program for asylum seekers, have continued online during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality and Ichilov Hospital have operated a huge vaccination center in Rabin Square in recent weeks, boosting the State of Israel’s rapid vaccination push. The facility is located alongside a municipal COVID-19 testing center, operated by the municipality in partnership with Home Front Command and providing assistance to over 1,500 individuals per day, as well as additional testing centers across the city.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, in partnership with Mesila (Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality’s Aid and Information Center for Migrant Workers and Refugees), the municipality has taken many measures to protect the health of foreign nationals, including:
· Carrying out COVID-19 tests among the foreign national population
· Placing signs with Health Ministry guidelines in English, Tigrinya, Russian and Arabic
· Using loudspeakers to share Health Ministry guidelines in English and Tigrinya
· Production and distribution of videos in English and Tigrinya in community WhatsApp groups
· Increased patrols by municipal security and inspection teams to disperse gatherings and respond to public order issues
