"As much as I would like to get vaccinated soon, I understand I have to wait."
"As much as I would like to get vaccinated soon, I understand I have to wait."
The World Health Organization and other prominent health agencies and health institutions around the world, including our own Department of Health, even prior to the global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, have been stressing the utmost need to give protection to our health care workers who have been manning the frontlines and taking care of COVID-19 patients since the pandemic began. With this, health care workers have been at the top of the list worldwide among those prioritized to receive the vaccine.
Here in the Philippines, we have been repeatedly receiving that information from the government since last year. The IATF and the DOH have been vocal about the national COVID-19 vaccination plan. This includes giving priority to our health care workers in COVID-19 hospitals and health facilities. Other priority groups include senior citizens, persons with co-morbidities, frontline personnel in essential sectors including uniformed personnel, and those in the essential working sectors, and indigent population. These sectors have been pre-selected by health experts and health officials considering the limited supply of vaccines, their risks and extent of exposure to COVID-19, the nature and necessity of their jobs, and other predisposing factors that render them susceptible to COVID-19 infection.
I cannot overemphasize the current limited supply of the COVID-19 vaccines. All 17 regions and all 81 provinces in the country have recorded COVID-19 cases, some which have been hotspots for many months now. We have roughly 1.7 million health care workers who are regularly exposed to suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients in various health care facilities. This number may actually be higher than estimated, given that barangay health workers may also be considered frontliners in the far-flung communities. Yet, the initial batches of vaccines are not sufficient to cater to all these frontliners.
I laud the efforts of the government in getting COVID-19 vaccines for the public. However, we need to strictly comply with the priority list of the vaccines. I am saddened by the fact that there are those who went ahead of the line and got vaccinated despite not belonging in any of the priority sectors. I am deeply disturbed at how the list could be circumvented to the prejudice of our health care workers who have been actually working at the frontlines for more than a year now, not to mention the people who have been patiently complying with the community quarantine and health protocols in spite of the inconvenience to their livelihood and employment. More alarming is the fact that the World Health Organization already gave a warning to pull out the Philippines from the countries included in its global vaccine sharing pool if the unauthorized vaccinations continue.
We should express our gratitude by abiding by the protocols. Hence, let this be a call for vigilance in the implementation of the COVID-19 vaccination program of the government. In the middle of a health crisis, especially in this pandemic, our health care workers and other frontline personnel with greater actual risk to COVID-19 should be the first ones to be protected. As much as I would like to get vaccinated soon, I understand I have to wait, and I urge everyone to patiently wait as well while, again, observing the necessary health protocols to help prevent the spread of the disease. These little ways are already a big help to the country.
