PGH nurses find honor, challenge as country's first COVID-19 vaccinators

Vaccinators of the Philippine General Hospital underwent training to make sure that not even a drop of the vaccine against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) would be wasted.

According to Sandra Aguinaldo’s report on “24 Oras,” among those trained was nurse Chareluck Santos, the first vaccinator assigned to the PGH.

Santos said she underwent training at the Department of Health, and one of the things they focused on was extreme caution in handling the vaccine.

“So ‘yung usual na nakasanayan namin is different from this one. Kasi sa ngayon po kailangan siyang , hindi shake ang tawag, parang invert. Invert po siya slowly, 10 times,” Santos said.

“Hindi siya puwedeng i-shake ng ganon so kailangan talaga meron kaming proper handling with it. At saka ang training po kasi doon, pagka na-shake siya as in discard na daw agad,” he added.

Nurse Marian Villanueva was, meanwhile, said that the 25 PGH vaccinators were trained on how to properly aspirate the vaccine - taking the vaccine from the vial to the syringe.

The procedure was vital if every drop was to be used on more than 5,000 people.

“Because we have to make sure that we will be able to get at least 5 doses from a vaccine. So the dose would be 0.3 ml of the vaccine per patient. But we still don’t know how thick or kung gaano kalapot pa ‘yung actual na vaccine,” she said.

“So yun yung medyo magiging challenging for us,” she added.

Though both nurses said they understood the seriousness of the responsibility given them, they would not back down from the challenge.

“Sabi nga nila, we will be part of history. So to be part of the very first COVID-19 vaccinators in the Philippines is an honor and a privilege para sa aming lahat,” Villanueva said.

“Sana kapag nagkaroon na ng vaccines at nabigyan na tayo ng bakuna, mas madadagdagan pa ‘yung mga pasyente na mase-sebisyuhan natin,” Santos, meanwhile, said. — Joahna Lei Casilao/DVM/NB, GMA News