How many people on ventilators are under the age of 60? How many critically ill patients live in Jerusalem or Bnei Brak? How many of them also suffer from diabetes or high blood pressure? Is there a need for special restrictions on people with these existing conditions?
At least based on the figures the Health Ministry is providing it isn't possible to get answers to all of these questions, and according to a certified source, it's possible they don't exist at all.
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A former senior official in the Health Ministry, meanwhile, is leveling unprecedented criticism over the lack of information the ministry provides, explaining it could pose a detriment to the exit strategy policies from the coronavirus crisis and even pose a risk to the public's health.
Prof. Tammy Shohat, an expert epidemiologist who up until a year ago headed the Israel Center for Disease Control at the Health Ministry, said, "Specifically now, when accessible information is necessary for the saving of lives -- it remains inaccessible. It's hard to believe, but the access to information, apparently, is also restricted for officials in other government ministries, including units within the Health Ministry whose job it is."
Shohat wants to make it possible for researchers and the general public to receive the information in order to develop models for exiting the quarantine and better understanding of the situation.
"This is an intolerable reality," she wrote in a position statement for the "Civilian Cabinet," a forum of experts, students, and the wider public. "As long as there's no information on the ages of the patients on ventilators, including their pre-existing conditions and places of residence, it will be hard to impossible to create a statistics-driven alternative to the decisions that have been made."
She continued: "Sharing information won't just strengthen the faith in the Health Ministry's leadership, it will also help them make more educated decisions moving forward. Allowing many researchers to analyze the information can bring us all closer to a successful solution. The information needs to be disseminated among the experts in the ministry itself."
Dr. Raz Hagoel, a medical weight loss expert, said that in many countries we are seeing "a process of gathering information and tracking the characteristics of corona patients. These statistics save lives and help formulate action strategies, warn high-risk groups and focus on giving the public critical recommendations. Information that has been collected in Western countries indicates high levels of obesity and other pre-existing conditions among patients in critical condition, and as a result steps are being taken. Experts in Great Britain are already advising the public to immediately lose weight. In Israel, medical professionals are reporting similar characteristics among patients in critical condition, but without official figures it isn't possible to formulate a clear plan of action.
Prof. Hagai Levine, head of the Israel Association of Public Health Physicians, said: "The information is vital for the sake of proper decision making and should be accessible and transparent to the public and scientists alike. An effort must be made to make the information accessible. This is information that could be critical in saving lives. Because this is an emergency situation that will continue for a long time, it's important to build these frameworks and that we stop stumbling around in the dark."
Prof. Manfred Green, head of the School of Public Health at the University of Haifa and a member of the Health Ministry's advisory committee on pandemics, has asked for some of these figures within the framework of committee discussions. "This is information that could help decision-makers," Green said.
However, in a conversation with an official involved in collecting and analyzing the data earmarked for the Health Ministry, a disconcerting picture arises whereby the ministry doesn't have the information.
The Health Ministry was unavailable for comment.
