New requirements for vaccinations when traveling for treatment in Israel

Dear friends,

For your attention an important update on measles vaccinations for foreign patients (tourists) before going to Israel for treatment.

November 2018

Recently, in light of the numerous cases of measles in Israel, as well as measles outbreaks in various countries (mainly former Eastern European countries), according to the instructions of the Israeli Ministry of Health, special condition (vaccination) is required for patients who are at high risk in order to prevent the incidence and spread of measles among patients.

In accordance with the indication of the Israeli Ministry of Health, each patient (tourist) from countries with an increased risk of disease (Romania, Georgia, Ukraine, Greece, Serbia, Albania, Russia and all CIS countries) who comes to Israel for treatment must provide to an Israeli hospital certificate of receipt of two doses of measles, rubella, mumps vaccine (MMR) after the age of one year old (at least one month) or a certificate of a positive IgA before arriving in Israel.

If there is no vaccination certificate, it is necessary to do serology tests in Israel (at the expense of the patient), which may delay the treatment process. If the serology test results are negative, it means that the patient is not vaccinated and he should be vaccinated in Israel. After vaccination, a 21-day waiting period is necessary before the start of treatment.

All of the above does not mean that you will require a certificate of vaccination at the migration service at the airport to enter Israel. The provision of such a vaccination certificate relates to hospitals and medical institutions, if you plan to undergo a diagnosis and / or treatment procedure.

There is also no need to provide a vaccination certificate for a private doctor’s appointment, but as you understand, as a result of the consultation, it may be necessary to have further diagnosis and treatment at an Israeli hospital. Therefore, we recommend that you take care of obtaining such a certificate before the trip, just in case.

Exceptions:
– Patients born before 1957 (it is assumed that they were vaccinated);
– Patients after bone marrow transplantation.

All patients in the high-risk group must take the necessary measures for treatment if they have:

– fever;
– cough;
– inflammation;
– eyes redness;
– rash.

All patients at high risk must inform the medical staff if they have been in contact with measles patients within three weeks before arriving in Israel.

Thank you for your cooperation and we hope for your understanding.

Sincerely,
ResultMed Team