JHAH doctor recognized for taking the lead on fighting COVID-19

EDITOR’S NOTE: Dr. Jaffar Al-Tawfiq’s career has included numerous national and international recognitions from institute for his work on COVID-19 and infections diseases. He has been named as a Top 10 scientist on coronavirus research by Microsoft, a top influential scientist by Stanford University, a leading expert contributing to COVID-19 by the Infections Disease Society of America, among others. He is also a member of the Saudi National COVID-19 Scientific and Vaccine committee, and is JHAH’s COVID-19 commander.

Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare (JHAH) has proven its resilience and dedication during the the COVID-19 pandemic, with Aramco and JHAH standing out for their recorded high rate of employee and dependent vaccinations. This rate adds to JHAH’s continuous efforts to raise awareness, educate, and enforce COVID-19 guidelines.

But vaccinations are only one part of the fight against COVID-19. Early in the pandemic, JHAH and Aramco worked hard to provide accurate, timely, and scientific-based information on COVID-19 that was available to not only JHAH and Aramco communities, but the entire population.

JHAH’s Dr. Jaffar Al-Tawfiq has been a key player in managing the pandemic. An infections-disease and internal medicine consultant who joined the company in 1999, he is the director of accreditation and infection control, department of quality, and patient safety, as well as being the JHAH COVID-19 Indcident Commander and head of the COVID-19 task force.

“Our understanding of the pandemic has now increased,” said Al-Tawfiq, adding that many rules and regulations have become routine to people. He noted that through collaboration with key departments in the company, guidelines and  educational campaigns have helped inform patients, health care workers, departments and services, and top management.

It’s like a beehive; we are all working in a collaborative environment.
— Dr. Jaffar Al-Tawfiq

Preparation, Recognition, and Guidance

Al-Tawfiq’s contributions during the pandemic has been acknowledged by ExpertScape, which ranks people and institutions by their expertise in more than 29,000 biomedical topics, ranking him the No. 2 scientist worldwide when it comes to the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV). He is also ranked in the world’s top 0.034% by ExpertScape about infection control. 

“I’m honored by all the recognitions that I have received during the past two years and throughout my career — I am humbled. It is a lifetime achievement, and I’m very grateful,” Al-Tawfiq said. 

Before the pandemic, JHAH, alongside Al-Tawfiq, held meetings to discuss solutions for future outbreaks and pandemics and how to manage the number of patients. They also conducted a drill to optimize readiness and maximize patients’ care. 

The latest drill was held in October 2019 — two months before the first registered case — involving multiple departments, including primary care, emergency room, and inpatient areas.

The past two years have been very stressful to all of us, but we see the light at the end of the tunnel.
— Dr. Jaffar Al-Tawfiq

“In the Kingdom, we have certainly worked very hard to put this pandemic to an end. Our commitment will enable us to return to normal lives, and we are all looking forward to witnessing the resolution of this pandemic,” he added