PHL officials reminded to prioritize HCWS in vaccination drive…or else
If we want to ensure that we continue to access the vaccines from Covax facility, we need to demonstrate that we can follow this prioritization.
THE World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday reminded the Philippine government to “respect” the prioritization list by prioritizing the country’s health-care workers (HCWS) in the vaccination rollout after some government officials were inoculated a bid to boost vaccine confidence.
“If we want to ensure that we continue to access the vaccines from Covax facility, we need to demonstrate that we can follow this prioritization,” WHO Representative to the Philippines Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe said in a media forum, where he also emphasized the need to protect the “most vulnerable, most at risk.”
Given the large need for vaccines across the world, he warned that if there are multiple reports of breaches in prioritization, “then the Covax may have to decide to address this challenge.”
“My word of caution is let’s not go there...[let us] ensure that there is a continuing rollout of vaccines ready to have the Philippines protect more people as gradually as possible,” Abeyasinghe said.
He added: “Because as you know, there is a huge demand for vaccines all over, in all the affected countries...and if we cannot demonstrate that—we are not following this prioritization. Unfortunately the Covax may have to consider other options where the impact of the vaccine rollout will be more useful and practical, and contribute to saving more lives.”
The WHO official said he is urging everyone concerned to “kindly respect the prioritization that has been defined by the Department of Health [DOH] and the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group, in consultation with the WHO, to please follow that so that we can ensure continued rollout of Covax vaccines in the country.”
This, Abeyasinghe added, will help to gradually go to the second, third prioritization groups.
“And eventually have everybody protected,” he said.
Sacrifice of HCWS
ABEYASINGHE said that they recognize all the sacrifices of the HCWS since the start of the pandemic.
“We leave room for the vaccines to reach the most at risk health-care workers,” he said stressing that they deserve to be protected.
“Let us prioritize them. It is something we have to come together. Not just the DOH but the whole of the country, the whole of the community. We need to do that to acknowledge the sacrifice of these people...to provide them the protection that they deserve,” he said.