A 53-year-old Israeli man who suffered a heart attack died last week after hospital staff members were unable to locate an ECMO machine for him since they are almost all in use by unvaccinated coronavirus patients, Channel 12 News reported. The man, who was not a coronavirus patient, was hospitalized in a hospital in northern Israel after he suffered a heart attack. His condition deteriorated and he needed to be attached to an ECMO machine to save his life. The medical staff at the hospital searched for hours to locate a machine but to no avail. Several hours later, the man’s condition deteriorated and he stopped breathing. Doctors tried to resuscitate him but were ultimately forced to declare his death.

COVID-19 has now killed about as many Americans as the 1918-19 Spanish flu pandemic did — approximately 675,000. The U.S. population a century ago was just one-third of what it is today, meaning the flu cut a much bigger, more lethal swath through the country. But the COVID-19 crisis is by any measure a colossal tragedy in its own right, especially given the incredible advances in scientific knowledge since then and the failure to take maximum advantage of the vaccines available this time. “Big pockets of American society — and, worse, their leaders — have thrown this away,” medical historian Dr. Howard Markel of the University of Michigan said of the opportunity to vaccinate everyone eligible by now. Like the Spanish flu, the coronavirus may never entirely disappear from our midst.

Chaya Leah Bergman, a’h, 31, of Modiin Illit passed away of the coronavirus on Tuesday evening, Motzei Yom Tov, in Assaf HaRofeh Medical Center in Rishon L’Tzion. Mrs. Bergman, who was unvaccinated, was evacuated to the hospital on Tuesday evening after her condition took a turn for the worse and she was struggling to breathe. She stopped breathing during the evacuation and the paramedics carried out resuscitation techniques which were continued at the hospital but unfortunately, the doctors were ultimately forced to declare her death. “We’re using this opportunity to call again to the public to vaccinate and to prevent this type of tragedy,” a statement from the hospital said. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

As YWN reported on Wednesday, Israel’s hospitals are overcrowded with coronavirus patients, and shortages of ECMO machines, ICU beds and staff means that patients’ needs are not being adequately met, leading to a high rate of deaths. According to a Kan News report on Wednesday evening, a third of COVID patients who require care in the ICU are hospitalized in other wards that cannot sufficiently meet their needs. Those vaccinated in other wards are attached to ventilators but don’t receive the intensive treatment ICU patients require, including the constant presence of staff.

In a tense meeting with Health Ministry Director-General Prof. Nachman Ash on Sunday, hospital directors warned that their hospitals are nearing a state of total collapse. The directors said that the number of coronavirus patients attached to ECMO machines is increasing and the demand is beginning to outstrip the supply. Additionally, “the medical staffers are at a breaking point, they’re working around the clock,” they said. Professor Sigal Sviri Sarussi, the head of the COVID intensive care unit at Hadassah Medical Center in Ein Kerem, said: “The vast majority of critically and seriously ill patients are unvaccinated.

Health Ministry Director-General Nachman Ash said last week that Israel’s current coronavirus wave is worse than all the previous waves. Speaking via teleconference at a meeting of the Knesset Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee, Ash said that the current average number of new daily cases is 8,000, with some days reaching over 10,000, and “that is a record number that wasn’t seen in the previous waves.” “We were in a clear downward trend a week ago but in recent days we’ve been seeing that decline stop,” Ash said. The Health Ministry confirmed on Sunday morning that the total number of coronavirus patients in serious condition has risen to 726, of whom 195 are ventilated. Seventeen additional fatalities were confirmed over the weekend, raising the death toll to 7,511.

Dr. Homayoun Sameyeh-Najafabadi, a pharmacologist and the representative of the Jewish community in Iranian parliament since 2020, said recently that there are 500 cases of mucormycosis, a life-threatening disease commonly known as the “black fungus,” in Iran. Speaking on state television, Sameyeh-Najafabadi said that the rise in cases stems from the use of corticosteroid treatment for COVID patients and cases have been documented in several provinces, including Tehran. “Black fungus” is a rare but serious infection caused by a group of molds called mucormycetes that generally affect those who are immunocompromised. The infection affects the sinuses and facial bones and can cause sight loss or brain damage. Black fungus has a 50% mortality rate if left untreated.

There’s been an increase in recent days in the number of pregnant and postpartum women hospitalized in Israel after contracting the coronavirus. As of Wednesday, there were 39 pregnant women and 24 postpartum women with the coronavirus in hospitals across Israel. Thirteen of the women are in serious condition, four of whom are ventilated and one of whom is attached to an ECMO machine. All 13 women in serious condition are completely unvaccinated. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Avi Shaulian, the brother of Chai Shaulian, z’l, a leading Israeli anti-vaxxer who died of COVID earlier this week, tearfully spoke about the loss of his brother and his feelings of regret that he couldn’t convince him to get vaccinated. Speaking on Channel 12 News the day after his brother’s death, he said: “This is a very difficult day. In another few hours, we’re going to bury my older brother. Until his last day, he thought his path was correct. We had many arguments with him trying to explain our view. It almost caused us to cut off contact with each other but at the end we were in touch until his last moment. We told him: ‘Vaccinate, vaccinate,’ but it didn’t help.” In a voice choked with tears, Avi appealed to the public: “It’s not a game – go be vaccinated.

Prof. Galia Rahav, director of the Infectious Diseases Department at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer who is considered one of the most senior and experienced doctors in  COVID treatment in Israel, painted a bleak picture of the current COVID situation in Israel, Yisrael Hayom reported on Sunday morning. “I’ve been crying recently,” Prof. Rahav said. “The mortality from COVD right now is very severe, it’s unbearable. There aren’t enough ICU beds for ventilated COVID patients.” “They don’t know enough about treating ventilated patients in some of the COVID wards,” she said. “Patients who aren’t expected to live die because there aren’t enough beds and staff in the ICU.