Binay appeals for public’s understanding on ‘human error’ in vaccination

FILE PHOTO: Makati Mayor Abigail Binay. INQUIRER file photo

MANILA, Philippines — Makati City Mayor Abby Binay on Monday appealed for the public’s understanding after a volunteer nurse in the city failed to inject contents of a syringe to a woman who was due to receive a COVID-19 shot.

Binay said that “it was human error on the part of the volunteer nurse that was immediately corrected.”

“Nabakunahan po ‘yung taong nasa video. Naintindihan po niya ang nangyari at siya mismo ang nagsabi na huwag tanggalin ang nurse. We ask simply for the public’s understanding,” the mayor said in a statement.

(The woman in the video was vaccinated. She understood what happened and she also said we should not remove the nurse. We ask simply for the public’s understanding.)

“Mahigit isang taon nang nagtratrabaho ang ating frontliners at sa totoo lang, napakahirap kumuha ng vaccinators ngayon,” she added.

(Our frontliners have been working for more than a year now, and to be honest, it is really hard to get vaccinators now.)

Binay also appealed to those who have circulated the video and the public, in general, to refrain from accusing the nurse that she was selling vaccines that’s why she did not properly inject it into the patient.

She also lamented that the incident is now being tainted with politics. She added that others who are spreading the video are using it to discredit the vaccination program of the national and local governments.

“Maawa naman kayo sa nurse na nagkusang loob na mag-volunteer ng kanyang oras para lamang mapabilis ang pagbabakuna sa ating mga residente,” the mayor said.

(You should pity the nurse who volunteered her time to hasten the vaccination of our residents.)

“Tao lang ang ating frontliners. Napapagod sila. Nagkakamali. Pero ang mahalaga, naayos agad ang pagkakamali. Humingi siya ng patawad, at siya naman ay pinatawad,” she added.

(Our frontliners are also humans. They get tired and commit mistakes. But what is important is that these mistakes get fixed immediately. She apologized, and she was forgiven.)

Binay then urged the people to move on from the incident.

The Department of Health said it is investigating the incident, even branding it a “clear breach of the vaccination protocol.”

The DOH earlier said the nurse “failed to push the contents of the syringe” on the arm of the woman, who caught the incident on video that later circulated on social media. The woman, however, was later successfully vaccinated when she showed the video to the vaccination team.

KGA