NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 05: Hundreds of members of the Orthodox Jewish community attend the funeral for a rabbi who died from the coronavirus in the Borough Park neighborhood which has seen an upsurge of (COVID-19) patients during the pandemic on April 05, 2020 in the Brooklyn Borough of New York City. Hospitals in New York City, which has been especially hard hit by the coronavirus, are facing shortages of beds, ventilators and protective equipment for medical staff. Currently, over 122,000 New Yorkers have tested positive for coronavirus. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) The Forward published a report on April 22 detailing how thousands of Orthodox Jews who have recovered from COVID-19 are donating their blood to help patients fight the coronavirus.
The report explains it started with Chaim Lebovits, who runs a shoe company in Monsey, NY, rallying other members of the Orthodox Jewish community to donate blood at the urging of his friend, John Hopkins University infectious disease specialist Dr. Shmuel Shoham. Lebovits started connecting Orthodox rabbis and organizations with hospitals and other medical personnel. Organizations such as the Orthodox Union and Agudath Israel of America, and various Orthodox rabbis now have gotten involved in encouraging the community to donate blood to be tested for antibodies.
The result has been more than 3,000 Orthodox Jews in the New York area donating their blood in an effort to provide antibodies to COVID-19 patients, and Lebovits hopes he can get up to 45,000 Orthodox Jews in the area to donate their blood.
“We as observant Jews have an obligation to preserve life, and save life, and help as many people as we can,” Lebovits told The Forward.
Lebovits’ efforts have trickled down to Lakewood, NJ, as Dr. Mike Joyner of the Mayo Clinic told The Forward that he has received a thousand blood donations from Orthodox Jews in the area − and he thinks he will receive thousands more.
The Forward’s report received praise from Jewish organizations.
“The Orthodox community is donating plasma to help fight #COVID19. This is how opportunities to do good arise from a dire situation,” Anti-Defamation League New York and New Jersey tweeted. “[Thank you] for taking the initiative to think of others during this difficult time #HopeNotHate.”
The Orthodox community is donating plasma to help fight #COVID19. This is how opportunities to do good arise from a dire situation. TY for taking the initiative to think of others during this difficult time #HopeNotHate. Read the @jdforward article here: https://t.co/SLjLAZuGSQ
— ADL New York / New Jersey (@ADL_NYNJ) April 23, 2020
The American Jewish Committee (AJC) and New York City Councilmember Mark Levine touted that more than half of the blood samples donated to Mount Sinai Health Center in New York City were from Orthodox Jews.
“Way to #BeAMensch!” the AJC tweeted.
“Thank you to all who are giving of themselves so selflessly,” Levine wrote.
More than half of @MountSinaiNYC's plasma donors are Orthodox Jews.
Way to #BeAMensch! 👍 https://t.co/R5SkbEjrY2
— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) April 22, 2020
.@MountSinaiNYC is running a major program for plasma donation by recovered covid patients.
More than half of their donors are from the orthodox community.
Thank you to all who are giving of themselves so selflessly. https://t.co/D92coS8iAX
— Mark D. Levine (@MarkLevineNYC) April 23, 2020
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), announced on April 23 that 21.2% of New York City residents tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies, which translates to about a million residents. The number was 13.9% statewide.
Israel has been developing what is known as a “passive” vaccine to treat critically ill COVID-19 patients with antibodies from patients who have recovered from the coronavirus. At least two Israeli patients were treated with the passive vaccine on April 12.
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