Israel to send health delegation to Philippines, assist with vaccinations
The delegation will consist of three experts and arrive on June 20.
By MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMANHealth workers provide vaccination cards to residents recently inoculated with AstraZeneca vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), inside a bus converted into a mobile vaccination site in Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines, May 21, 2021(photo credit: REUTERS/LISA MARIE DAVID)
A team of Israeli Health Ministry experts is expected to travel to the Philippines to aid in that country’s vaccination efforts, Philippines News Agency (PNA) reported.A spokesperson for the Health Ministry confirmed the travel plans but said he could not comment on them due to nationalistic and security reasons.The delegation will consist of three experts and arrive on June 20, according to PNA, which cited a statement by National Task Force Against COVID-19 chief implementer and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. about the trip.Galvez called Israel’s vaccination campaign “highly successful” and said that the Philippine government is looking to “adopt Israel’s interventions on increasing public uptake, which is to provide incentives for vaccine recipients and restrictions for those who are yet to get coronavirus jabs,” the agency reported.When Israel first rolled out its vaccine campaign it offered inoculated Israelis a green pass that gave them access to a number of cultural, leisure and other activities while non-vaccinated individuals were not allowed in. The green pass program was recently canceled, after more than 5.4 million Israelis got the jab and because the country’s daily infection rate is now often less than 10 people.Israelis have not been required to wear masks outside for nearly a month. On Sunday, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said the requirement of masking indoors is likely to be lifted next week if the rate of infection remains stable.Relatedly, the Philippines Department of Tourism (DOT) on Monday proposed the possibility of setting up a “Green Lane” to facilitate the entry of foreign travelers who are vaccinated against the coronavirus.The recommendation was made by the DOT to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases with the goal of making it easier for vaccinated people to vacation in the Philippines as isolation rules are being relaxed in other parts of the world.“We must keep pace with our neighbors and the rest of the world in slowly reopening our tourist destinations,” said Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat. “We must be ready for the visitors when the whole world is ready to safely travel again.”
