Until the ceremonial rollout of the country's first vaccines from Sinovac, health workers express reluctance to receive the shot, opting to wait for different vaccines to become available
(JANSEN ROMERO / MANILA BULLETIN)
“We are dismayed at the sudden turn around decision of the government to inoculate health workers with Sinovac, sacrificing the health and safety of the health workers,” said AHW President Robert Mendoza in a statement.
“The government should not pass on to us the burden of public trust on vaccination, because it’s the government’s responsibility to the people to give the best vaccine and ensure the safety and efficacy and it should be consistent and transparent to the people,” he added.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted an emergency use authorization (EUA) to Sinovac vaccines last Feb. 22, but it was not recommending the use of the China-made vaccine to medical frontliners who were attending to COVID-19 patients due to its low efficacy rate of 50.4 percent.
The Department of Health (DOH) said Saturday, Feb. 27, the government is already prepared to receive the first batch of Sinovac coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines donated by the Chinese government, which are expected to arrive on Sunday, Feb. 28.
(JANSEN ROMERO / MANILA BULLETIN)
“Looking back to what happened last year and until now, despite the prompt and sincere response of health workers to save lives and cure victims of the disease, the DOH (Department of Health) and government authorities remain extremely slow, numb, and deaf in responding to the needs of health workers and patients,” said AHW National President Robert Mendoza in a statement.
Mendoza lamented the delayed release of benefits and the lack of personal protective equipment for health workers.
“Nothing has changed in our situation: many health workers from the regions still lack protective gears, severe understaffing in public hospitals and health facilities that lead to health workers to extend long hours of duty, low wages, over delayed payment of miniscule and selective benefits such as actual hazard duty pay and special risk allowance,” said Mendoza.
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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 29) – Medical frontliners stress they should be highly prioritized in the national COVID-19 vaccination program amid reports that some soldiers and Presidential Security Group (PSG) personnel have been immunized with unregistered vaccine.
Filipino Nurses United Secretary-General Jocelyn Andamo pointed out to CNN Philippines’ Rico Hizon on Tuesday that health workers are more prone to contract COVID-19 due to the nature of their work.
“It is sad to know that some people were vaccinated already, yet they have been telling before that medical frontliners should be the first to receive the vaccine,” Andamo lamented.
Alliance of Health Workers National President Robert Mendoza insisted in the same interview that the COVID-19 vaccine that will be administered to the people must pass the Philippine Food and Drug Administration regulations and Phase 3 clinical trials, registered by the agency, safe, and effective.