DOH probes ‘protocol breach’ in COVID-19 vaccination in viral video

A screenshot of the now viral video subject of the DOH probe.

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) is investigating a “breach of vaccination protocol” when a healthcare worker failed to properly administer an anti-COVID shot to a certain prospective vaccine recipient.

In a statement on Monday, the DOH said it is aware of a circulating video of a prospective vaccine recipient “who failed to receive a proper dose of COVID-19 vaccine.”

“Sinisigurado po namin na ating iimbestigahan ang pangyayaring ito upang mapabuti ang ating national vaccination program. Sa pagdating ng mas maraming bakuna sa bansa, we will continue to improve our speed, scale, and quality of service,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said.

(We assure you that we will investigate this incident to improve our national vaccination program. As more vaccines come in, we will continue to improve our speed, scale and quality of service.)

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Duque assured the public that the incident, which the DOH described as a “clear breach of vaccination protocol,” is being taken seriously and that immediate improvements in the protocols shall be made to prevent a similar case.

According to the DOH, the vaccine recipient, who was filming the incident, noticed that the healthcare worker “failed to push the contents of the syringe.”

It added that the vaccination site immediately addressed the mistake and the person concerned was successfully vaccinated after showing the video to the vaccination team. The DOH, however, did not mention where the concerned vaccination site was located.

“The Department is investigating this breach in the vaccination protocol in coordination with the LGU concerned, and reminds all vaccinators to take extra care and attention during inoculation,” the DOH added.

EDV