Makes appeal to follow priority list so as not to imperil COVAX Facility vaccine deliveries
(Eagle News) – President Rodrigo Duterte expressed dismay about some persons who are not health workers who got vaccines against COVID-19, which was against the protocol of the Philippine vaccine rollout.
Duterte said that this incidents could put in peril the arrival of more vaccines from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) COVAX Facility since the condition to vaccinate health workers first before other sectors was explicitly given in the agreement.
The 75-year old Philippine leader also stressed that the Philippine government also promised to comply with the policy to vaccinate medical frontliners when we tried to secure funds from the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank.
“I remember that when we were discussing about the loans that we are applying for sa Asian Development Bank rather and World Bank — as we were discussing it, I gave a list of priority in the ladder kung sino ang mauna. But apparently this was not complied strictly,” President Duterte said in his Talk to the Nation on Wednesday, March 24.
“Eh ang mahirap nito ang nagbigay ang WHO, ‘yong COVAX, eh donated ‘yan. So tinanggap natin knowing fully well that we have to honor the conditions attached thereto. Ang nangyayari ngayon hindi nasusunod.”
President Duterte said that he has a list of the names who jumped the line and got vaccines even though they were not health workers. He asked the Department of Health to investigate the incidents.
He said that he had earlier had apprehensions about this.
“Ito ‘yong tinatakutan ko noon. I remember very well admonishing everybody that the priority sa pagbigay ng bakuna ay ito ang masusunod, wala pa ‘yong COVAX. Iyong akin lang sabi ko ‘yong mga vulnerable, walang trabaho, ‘yong may mga sakit at baka maagapan. So I made a list I for — but they are all here included in the list of priorities including the WHO conditionalities,” he said.
“Hindi nasunod kasi may iba ang balita ko naibigay sa mga anak ng mga artista at iba pa. Iyong the favored few always.”
The President said that he understood “fully well the psyche of the Filipino.”
“We want to please everybody especially friends parang uunahin natin, parang baka — us first tapos sila. Iyan that’s a — that’s the penchant of Filipinos. Ngayon dito maraming non — na wala sa listahan, not in the priority and were given the vaccines,” he said.
“Nandito ‘yong mga pangalan hindi ko na lang basahin. I will just let the Department of Health deal with you sa panahong pagkatapos nito,” he said.
-All will get vaccines, just wait, says Pres. Duterte-
Duterte said that all will get the vaccines, but that 1.7 million health care workers should be the ones who must be vaccinated first.
“God willing kung at least mabakunahan na lahat, okay na. Do you know that there are 1.7 million (health workers)? Iyan sila ang nauna. In the frontline, frontline workers in the health facilities both national and local; private and public health professionals; mga doctor; nurses sa ospital, diyan sa labas nagtatrabaho; and nonprofessionals like students, nursing aides, janitor, barangay health workers kasi sila ‘yong lumalapit,” he said.
(Eagle News Service)
