Thread by @TerezaHendl

On the #COVID19 pandemic implications of Israel's bombing of Gaza: where are fellow scholars in #bioethics, #PublicHealthEthics, #PandemicHealth and #GlobalHealth raising the alarm about this urgent health issue? 1/10

https://twitter.com/thrasherxy/status/1394634021636820994

In February, Doctors Without Borders @MSF stated: "you are over 60 times more likely to have a vaccination in Israel than in Palestine. Israel has a responsibility as an occupying power to ensure the medical supplies of the occupied people" msf.org/stark-inequali… 2/10

In March, Doctors Without Borders @MSF urged: "Palestine, where just two per cent of people have been vaccinated, urgently needs COVID-19 vaccines to protect frontline staff and vulnerable people." msf.org/vaccines-neede… 3/10

Likewise, the @UN warned: "Members of the UN Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices were concerned that the country has been donating vaccines overseas while not fulfilling its obligation to ensure Palestinians are protected." bit.ly/3oCy8mr 4/10

The @WHO in April: “health is a right, not a privilege. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the profound health inequities that exist globally and that are evident for Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip." bit.ly/3hG8hZC 5/10

Now, with Israel's bombing of Gaza the @AP reports that 18 hospitals and clinics are damaged, including the only COVID19 clinic: "when the clinic was damaged, Gaza had recorded more than 105,000 coronavirus infections, including 986 deaths." bit.ly/3bGaYXj 6/10

With the only Gaza COVID19 clinic & test centre damaged, testing has halted: “It’s like a ticking bomb [..] people are not tested, and those who are infected won’t know that they are infected,” Dr. Dhair, head of preventive medicine, Health Ministry bit.ly/3bGaYXj 7/10

@MSF warns that Israel's "horrendous attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure" in Gaza are producing mounting numbers of killed, wounded and displaced Palestinians and shortage of medical supplies while humanitarian personnel cannot enter Gaza bit.ly/3fBpl07 8/10

Beside a "horrendous attack on civilians and civilian infrastructure" - including health infrastructure - in Gaza, this is a pandemic catastrophe about to happen in a damaged and starved health care system. Palestinians too have a right to life and health 9/10

So where are scholars in bioethics, global health, pandemic health & public health ethics raising concerns about this health crisis and the risks of COVID-19, considering the systemic undermining of vaccination and testing infrastructure serving the Palestinian population? 10/10