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Roque on Sinovac vaccine for health workers: Walang sapilitan, walang mawawala sa pila
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque on Saturday reiterated that healthcare workers who will choose not to get the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine will not lose their priority in the government's immunization program.
"Walang sapilitan, walang mahuhuli sa pila, walang mawawala sa pila," Roque said in a press briefing.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) approved the recommendation
of the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG) and the Department of Health’s Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to allot Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines for healthcare workers."Sabi sa DOH briefing kahapon, ligtas ang bakuna ng Sinovac. Ito ay safe vaccine at mapapakinabangan or beneficial ito sa healthcare workers," Roque said.
"Dagdag pa ng DOH, binibigyan ang healthcare workers ng pagkakataong pumili ng bakunang nais nila," he added.
"Ang pagbabago po sa ating protocol, kung ayaw po ng healthcare worker ang Sinovac, pupuwede po siyang tumanggi at hindi mawawala 'yung kanyang prayoridad kapag dumating na ang bakunang gusto niya," Roque said.
"Pero pang-healthcare workers lang po 'yan ha. Sa lahat po kinakailangan pa rin talaga kung ano po ang naririyan ay tatanggapin natin. Kung ayaw naman po ay wala talagang sapilitan," the Palace official said.
Sinovac is administered in two doses and has been found to have an efficacy rate of 65% to 91% among clinically healthy individuals aged 18 to 59 years old, based on the findings of the Philippine Food and Drug Administration.
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The FDA granted emergency use authorization to Sinovac on Monday but did not recommend it for health workers, the top priority in the vaccination program, due to its lower efficacy rate of 50.4% in the said group.
The donation of China of 600,000 doses of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines will arrive at 5 p.m. on Sunday afternoon in the country. Of this number, 100,000 doses were reserved for the Armed Forces of the Philippines tapped to secure the transport of COVID-19 vaccines to health care facilities.
President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to welcome the arrival of the vaccines, together with other officials, at the Villamor Airbase.
"Excited na kami dahil bukas dadating na po ang bakuna," Roque said.
Roque added he will also be there together with Senator Christopher "Bong" Go and other Cabinet officials.
A special press briefing will be held on Sunday about the vaccines' arrival, he said.
Asked when the Cabinet officials who volunteered to get the vaccine would be inoculated, Roque said they will prioritize healthcare workers first.
"Inuuna po muna natin ang ating mga healthcare workers dahil sa pag-aaral, mas makakabigay ng kumpiyansa sa taumbayan kung makikita nila ang mga healthcare workers na maunang mabakunahan," he said. —KG, GMA News