Hontiveros: Gov’t needs info drive, release priority list on vaccine program 

Senator Risa Hontiveros. Screen grab / Senate PRIB file photo

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Risa Hontiveros on Saturday is pushing for a massive information drive on the government’s Covid-19 vaccination program.

In an interview over radio station DWIZ, Hontiveros said that the release of the list of the priority groups was a “good first step.”

“Mabuting first step iyan pero may kailangan pang gawin: information campaign. So dapat maisapubliko ng malawak ng NTF (National Task Force against Covid-19) yung priority list sa vaccination,” she said.

(It’s a good first step but another thing that we should do is information campaign. It’s best for the NTF to massively release the list so the public would know.)

“Para din maiwasan ang kalituhan at dayaan kapag dumating na ang mga supply ng bakuna,” she later added.

(The release would also avoid confusion and no one would lie about being part of the group when the vaccines arrive.)

On Friday, the national government released the list of groups to be prioritized for the vaccination program. Those to be prioritized are the frontline health workers in both public and private sectors, senior citizens, persons with comorbidities, frontline personnel in essential sectors and teachers, among others.

Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. previously said that local government units unprepared for the vaccine rollout will not receive supplies. This is to make sure that not a single dose will be wasted.

JPV