PASAY CITY, July 1 -- As Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Senator Christopher "Bong" Go reminded authorities to revisit processes in order to improve the vaccine rollout while ensuring that mistakes are immediately corrected. Go also said that the Department of Health is already probing isolated cases of alleged 'breach in protocol' where COVID-19 vaccines were not administered properly.
He, however, told the public not to be quick on passing judgement on healthcare workers who continue to sacrifice their lives to help others and fulfill their duties.
A recent viral video showed a medical worker injecting a syringe into the arm of a woman but failed to push down the plunger before taking out the needle. The incident was immediately acted upon by concerned authorities to ensure that the mistake is corrected and the individual is able to receive the vaccine properly.
"Kausap ko po ang ating DOH. Sabi ko kung maaari ay imbestigahan ito, alamin ano ang nangyari," said Go during his visit to Tricycle Operators and Drivers' Association (TODA) members in Caloocan City on Wednesday, June 30.
"In fairness sa mga health workers natin na nagtatrabaho pa ng overtime, kawawa rin po sila. Masipag po ito, nagsikap po ito na makapagserbisyo sa inyo. Wala pong perpekto sa mundong ito. Maaaring meron diyan na 1% o less than 1% na maaaring magkamali dahil na rin po siguro sa pagod at hirap ng kanilang ginagawa para sa ating mga kababayan… So, bigyan muna natin sila ng pagkakataon at 'wag muna natin silang husgahan at wala naman sigurong mananadya," he added.
Earlier, the DOH urged all those who administer vaccines to pay special care to how they deliver COVID-19 shots as part of an investigation into the viral video. The DOH said it was taking the incident "seriously" and that it will make urgent adjustments to the vaccination practices to avoid a repeat.
In a statement, Makati City Mayor Abby Binay confirmed the incident, saying it happened at one of the city's immunization locations and that it was "immediately corrected."
Meanwhile, the Senator called for calm amid the strong reactions drawn by the viral video. "Pakiusap ko po huminahon tayo. Bigyan ng pagkakataon ang healthworker natin i-explain din po ano ang totoong nangyari at kung maaari 'di na ito maulit dahil magdaragdag din ito ng pangamba sa mga kababayan natin kung iniisip nila na 'di sila nabakunahan."
He also asked medical frontliners to be careful next time to prevent such lapses.
"Sana po ay maiwasan na ito. At sana po ang vaccination kung 99% ay sana umabot tayo sa 100% na wala na pong kakulangan o katulad nitong pumalpak," he said.
The Senator assured, though, that the incident will not derail the government's vaccination program as it is an isolated case. He also advised local government units to review their vaccination processes and ensure that their healthcare workers are not exhausted.
"Sa LGUs natin sa health workers, sa DOH officials, balikan niyo po ang inyong proseso, balikan niyo ng konti, tignan niyong mabuti baka talagang pagod na rin po, baka exhausted na ang health worker. Baka ang kanyang kapasidad ng araw na yon ay sagad na rin po," said Go.
"Ayusin niyo po ang oras, yung shifting, yung proseso ang pagche-check po at balance everything. Kapag may tumurok, may nakatingin dapat para malaman kung nadiin ba kasi baka po ang nagturok naka-focus sya sa (iba) hindi nya po namalayan. Kung meron pong dagdag na nagche-check ay maiiwasan ang ganitong pangyayari," he ended.
The National COVID-19 Vaccine Operation Cluster recently conducted a re-orientation on the COVID-19 vaccine administration protocols among regional and local vaccination teams in the country. Moreover, the Department reminded vaccinators to exercise due diligence in the vaccination process and take extra care and attention during the inoculation process.
To avoid more incidents of vaccinators failing to administer the proper dose, the DOH suggested LGUs to deck vaccinators every 8-hours to minimize fatigue and ensure quality of service and have a vaccinator aide to assist and lessen the work of the vaccinator. (OSBG)
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