Israel inoculates PHL caregivers, students, diplomats–all for free
ALREADY a world leader in vaccinations against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), the State of Israel has already inoculated 5.2 million out of its citizenry of 9.3 million—more than a half of its population—with at least one dose.
In all, Israel’s embassy in the Philippines has reported that about 4.2 million individuals have received both shots of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine in the holy Land.
As part of its successful vaccination campaign, Israel’s Ministry of health has vaccinated for free anyone who is in the said country—regardless of citizenship, status, or whether the individual has insurance or without.
Approximately 30,000 Filipino caregivers, 400 students of agriculture, and the staff of the Philippine Embassy in Israel have received the free Pfizer vaccine. Filipinos with expired working permits were also given vaccine shots.
“Israel is thankful [to] Filipino caregivers for helping elderly and disabled Israeli citizens during the Covid-19 outbreak. For many years, the Israeli government has been providing [them]...full access to the advanced medical services of our country,” Ambassador of Israeli to the Philippines Rafael harpaz confirmed. “[This is another way to thank them and ensure] their health and safety. Israel always took good care of them—especially during this pandemic.”
The envoy cited the historic visit of President Duterte to Israel in 2018, when the government of Israel signed an agreement with its Philippine counterpart to regulate working conditions of Filipinos in holy Land.
A year after the outbreak of the pandemic, Israel has granted significant assistance to the Philippines to help its fight against Covid-19. The state’s government provided several donations which consisted of personal protective equipment to the Department of National Defense and the Philippine National Police their frontliners use. It also handed out learning equipment to the Department of Education to aid the government agency’s rollout of distance learning.
Israel also continues to share its experiences and knowledge in emergency and pandemic responses with the Philippines via webinars, courses and joint meetings.