Solon to DOH, LGUs: Give volunteer vaccinators P1K daily allowance

(FILE) San Juan City provides Moderna vaccines for residents under the A1, A2, A3, A4, and A5 categories in San Juan City’s vaccination program at the FilOil Flying V Centre, on June 30. Niño Jesus Orbeta/Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines — A lawmaker is calling on the Department of Health (DOH) and the various local government units (LGUs) to consider giving volunteer vaccinators a daily allowance of at least P1,000.

Anakalusugan Partylist Rep. Mike Defensor said many of the volunteer nurses are unemployed or waiting to be deployed abroad, while most doctor-volunteers are new practitioners who are still struggling and building their careers.

The P1,000 daily allowance is nearly equivalent to the salary of a government nurse, which is about P33,000 a month, said Defensor.

“It’s not enough compensation, but it could cover the volunteer’s transportation, snacks, and lunch, and perhaps leave him with change good for two to three kilos of well-milled rice,” Defensor said in a statement on Thursday.

“Vaccination duty will be a source of income for those who are jobless or waiting for deployment, and an additional earning for young doctors if they are given an allowance,” he added.

Defensor said that the grant of an allowance would entice many nurses, doctors, and other health professionals to volunteer for vaccination duty.

“We need more volunteers to ramp up the rollout of vaccines, which has been slowed down by admissions of lapses or breaches of vaccination protocols, which could be attributed partly to the fact that many of our vaccinators are overworked,” Defensor said.

According to data from the government, as of June 27, a total of 10,065,414 vaccine doses have been given across the country, including 7,538,128 that were provided as first jabs.

Meanwhile, 2,527,286 individuals in the country have been fully vaccinated.

/MUF