MANILA, Philippines — To prevent people who prefer a particular vaccine brand from crowding COVID-19 vaccination sites, the Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday suggested that the brand of the available vaccine should no longer be announced.
Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje made the suggestion after people reportedly swarmed vaccination sites where doses of the U.S.-made Pfizer vaccine were being administered.
“Maybe one of the strategies that can be made is hindi na ia-announce kung anong bakuna ang ibibigay. Kung gusto ninyo magpabakuna, pumunta kayo sa ganitong facility o kaya vaccination site tapos kung ano ‘yung bakuna na available ‘yun ang dapat kunin nila,” she said in a Laging Handa public briefing.
(Maybe one of the strategies that can be made is to no longer announce the vaccine that will be given. If they want to get vaccinated, they should go to the site and get whatever vaccine is available there, regardless of brand.)
“Kung anong bakuna ang available, dapat kunin mo na. That will help the flow,” she added.
(Whatever vaccine is available, they should get it. That will help the flow.)
Cabotaje clarified that this has always been the policy of the government in COVID-19 vaccination and people are not given the right to refuse.
She said only health workers are given the “right of first refusal” during the early stages of the vaccination program when jabs from China’s Sinovac BioTech were made available and it was then not recommended for health workers.
“Binigyan natin ng right of first refusal ang ating mga health workers because of the fact that at the beginning ‘yung Sinovac was not advisable, not recommended for health workers,” she said.
(We gave health workers the right of first refusal because at the beginning Sinovac was not advisable, not recommended for health workers.)
“Other than that dapat wala nang right of refusal. Kung ano ‘yung vaccine kunin mo, kapag hindi mo kukunin, then you go down the end of the line,” she added.
(Other than that, there should be no right of refusal. Whatever vaccine is there, get it, if you don’t you do down the end of the line.)