Chaim Markos Rafalowski, disaster relief coordinator for Magen David Adom, was among four Israeli healthcare officials dispatched to the Philippines to help that nation in its battle against the coronavirus pandemic. The team arrived there on Tuesday, July 28, for a six-day visit to share best practices.
Israel has been seen as a world leader in the fight against Covid, largely because of its early proactive measures to contain the disease’s spread in Israel and, later, because of its world-leading vaccination rollout in which, as of today, 61% of the population has been fully vaccinated. Israel, which has 9.3 million residents, has had fewer than 6,500 deaths from the disease.
“This mission is focused on how to respond to the Covid situation,” Philippines Ambassador to Israel Macairog S. Alberto told The Jerusalem Post. “The team will discuss how to prevent, isolate, detect, and treat [the virus], and reintegration strategies that could be used by the Philippines based on the experience of Israel to combat Covid-19.”
Magen David Adom (MDA) played a major role in Israel’s Covid response — treating infected patients, developing groundbreaking protocols to prevent spread among healthcare workers, developing technology to detect abrupt changes in Covid patients’ conditions, administering Covid tests to about 5 million Israelis, and vaccinating hundreds of thousands of people, including every nursing home resident in the country.
“We are using the Israeli model to conduct the vaccine roll out,” Ambassador Alberto told The Post.
MDA has a strong relationship with the Philippines health ministry and Red Cross service, having sent EMTs and paramedics to help with the response to the country’s 2013 typhoon and, more recently, providing the groundbreaking technology the Philippines uses to dispatch its ambulances.
“Israel has always been a good friend to the Philippines,” Alberto said. “Your willingness to share your time and expertise with our medical personnel reflects the nature of that friendship.”
