By Alec Go
With over 10 million COVID-19 vaccines administered and other measures in response to the pandemic, Israel with a population of nine million is now getting back to normal.
In mid-April, its government rescinded its directive requiring the public to wear face masks outdoors amid its expanding mass vaccination program.
Rafael Harpaz, Israel Ambassador to the Philippines, detailed in an interview with Daily Tribune aired on May 11 that they also had their share of challenges and lessons learned from the pandemic – among them a strengthened healthcare system.
“The fact that we got the vaccines, the fact that we have such a very good public health system – I think this is the key for the success,” he said.
“What we have seen – the vaccines are saving lives. The number of deaths went down dramatically,” he added.
Before being one of the “most vaccinated” nations worldwide, Harpaz said Israel had to deal with “fake news” and vaccine hesitancy from the beginning.
“There are people that are opposing vaccinations. They just say they don’t believe in vaccination,” he said, noting that it was through government campaigns that they were able to respond to this.
“First and foremost… by our leaders being the first to be vaccinated. When we have a significant amount of population being vaccinated, it was easier to persuade people to be vaccinated,” he said.
As the vaccine rollout progresses, with some days seeing 200,000 inoculations, the ambassador reported that they signed an agreement with Pfizer and Moderna “for another 16 million doses for 2022.”
Lockdowns, financial crisis
Similar to other countries, Harpaz said there were series of lockdowns in Israel that affected its economy. He noted that complete lockdowns are not the answer, because “people will die from other things.“
“We had a very tough lockdown, many people became unemployed and then we found the right balance. And now we see Israel’s economy is moving forward very fast,” he said.
“Still, there are unemployed people but it went down to around 8% in Israel. It almost reached 35 to 40%. There are still those that won’t go back to their jobs. This is a challenge how to bring them back to the working force,” he added.
Israel’s entertainment, tourism, and food industries were the areas “most badly” hit. Now that its economy is recovering, concerts and other activities are now allowed for people who have been vaccinated.
PH relations
Around 30,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have been vaccinated in Israel, including caregivers attending to the most vulnerable populations. Personnel of the Philippine Embassy have also been covered.
Harpaz said they are willing to lend assistance to the Philippines, including sharing their experience on how to deal with COVID, how to prevent it, and provision of needed equipment.
He said they are also “eager” to enter the Philippines in terms of investment as they see “great potential in the Philippines.”
Meanwhile, Harpaz said they “believe and we support a peaceful solution” in terms of Philippines-China relations amid the West Philippine Sea dispute. – jlo
