Pharmacists, midwives take roles in vax drive

The Department of Health (DoH) on Monday said it is eyeing to tap pharmacists and midwives to carry out the government’s immunization program against Covid-19 this year since it will require “a lot” of health care workers.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire noted that there are laws allowing pharmacists and midwives to administer vaccines after completing the necessary training and certification or under the supervision of physicians or nurses.

“The DoH is studying how we can work with existing laws to include other healthcare professionals, specifically physicians and midwives, in our vaccine deployment plan,” Vergeire said in a media briefing.

In Malacañang, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque welcomed the idea, noting that it is being done in other countries as well.

“That is right. We all know that the government is eyeing to vaccinate 50 to 70 million individuals and we really need manpower to administer the vaccines this year,” Roque said.

So far, only doctors are allowed to administer Covid-19 vaccines.

Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. previously said 25,000 vaccinators are already being trained to inoculate up to 200,000 people against the coronavirus once the nationwide program rolls out.

In a Senate hearing last week, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the government had already identified a total of 4,512 fixed vaccination sites that each aim to immunize 100 people a day. Existing medical centers and rural health facilities will be among those used.