Magen David Adom was presented with a medal of honor Sunday by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Health Yuli Edelstein in recognition of the organization’s groundbreaking work combatting coronavirus in Israel.
Eli Bin, MDA’s director-general, accepted the award on behalf of the organization, Israel’s paramedic and Red Cross service.
“I would like to thank the prime minister and the minister of health,” Bin said. “I am proud of the organization’s volunteers and employees — from Metula to Eilat. The MDA family has been involved in the crisis since day one and we fought it successfully and with increased and steadfast forces.”
From the onset of the pandemic, MDA played a pivotal role in Israel’s efforts to contain its spread. Because of the organization’s experience and training, MDA was initially the only organization authorized by the Ministry of Health to provide pre-hospital emergency care to Covid patients.
In addition, the organization set up extensive Covid testing facilities, administering tests to 4.5 million Israelis, including at-home tests and tests administered at MDA’s drive-through testing sites.
When Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine became available, MDA also administered the vaccine to 700,000 Israelis, including the residents of every nursing home in the country, ensuring that Israel’s most vulnerable populations were protected and contributing significantly to Israel’s world-leading vaccination initiative.
Magen David Adom also contributed to the treatment of coronavirus patients by collecting 23,589 plasma units from recovered Covid patients, which were administered to patients in moderate to severe condition to provide them with antibodies to aid them in their recovery.
