DR. JAFFAR AL-TAWFIQ

Infectious disease consultant; director of quality, Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare, Dhahran

As doctors and health care workers braced for COVID-19 when it hit Saudi Arabia, a number had the experience of another coronavirus that appeared in the Kingdom eight years ago.

Dr. Jaffar Al-Tawfiq, an infectious disease consultant at Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare (JHAH) in Dhahran, began prepping before the first case was even identified in the

Kingdom in March.

“I’d witnessed the emergence of the MERS-CoV infection in 2012, and I was part of the global response to this disease,” he said.

“Building on the experience I’d gained, I’d been appointed as the JHAH COVID-19 incident response commander.” Al-Tawfiq studied at the King Faisal University of Medicine. He was certified in internal medicine and infectious diseases by the American Board of Internal Medicine, and later did an internal medicine residency and infectious diseases fellowship at Indiana University. He was awarded a diploma in tropical medicine and hygiene by the Royal College of Physicians, London. Al-Tawfiq worked closely with Aramco and the Ministry of Health to optimize safety in the workplace and at home.

“I was working day and night for long hours to ensure readiness and compliance with the processes that we developed,” he said.

“In addition, I’ve been involved nationally and internationally to combat this pandemic. We certainly have learned a lot and made significant contributions.”

Rashid Hassan

Riyadh