Israeli medical doctor Raphael Kot has sent a letter to Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, head of the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control, and the Ministry of Health, in which he affirms he never said he joins consultations on COVID-19 combat for Vietnam’s agencies, the ministry reported on March 3.

Letter of the doctor (Photo: VNA) 

Kot, who is living and working in Hanoi, was the interviewee in the article “What Israel can learn from Vietnam on how to beat the coronavirus” published on the Israel’s Haaretz newspaper on February 28 which mentioned a detail that he directly provided consultations to the Vietnamese government in the fight.

In the letter, the doctor said there are two misquotes which are misleading.

According to him, the interview was conducted in the Jewish language via telephone from Israel in unstable transmission conditions, resulting in several incorrect information in the contents published.

Moreover, journalist Ronny Linder, author of the article, failed to send the contents to him before publication.

He said he and his chain of family clinics highly appreciate and are grateful to the Vietnamese ministry for their support and directions against the outbreak.

The doctor said the purpose of the interview is that he wishes to express respect and gratitude to Vietnamese leaders who are battling against the epidemic and to urge countries to learn from Vietnam’s experience in the effort.

He also affirmed he did not intend to polish his name or advertise his clinics and that he also has contacted the journalist and requested correcting erroneous or unmentioned information in the article.

The health ministry only consulted the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those two have over 120 experts working in Vietnam for years and always coordinate with the Vietnamese side to share information in the COVID-19 fight.

As the permanent unit of the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control, the ministry is open to opinions of every individual and organisation, not only regarding the epidemic. However, it has not invited any individual and organisation to work as consultant or expert for the ministry in the fight against the epidemic.