DOH, NTF urged to establish COVID-19 vaccine tracker

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Sunday called on the National Task Force Against COVID-19 (NTF) and the Department of Health to establish a "vaccine tracker" to keep the public informed on the progress being made with the COVID-19 vaccination program.

This, after the country contracted $900 million worth of loans for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines.

“Ang taumbayan ang magbabayad ng mga utang na iyan. A vaccine tracker updated daily and accurately will be especially important when we start receiving the vaccines we paid for," Hontiveros said in a statement.

"Magiging money trail din natin ito para malaman kung saan napupunta ang bilyun-bilyong pisong inutang natin. We should be able to see that our money is being put to good and efficient use,” she added.

Hontiveros argued that the public had the right to know the status of the government's COVID-19 vaccination program amid the increasing number of cases.

The vaccine tracker, she added, should be publicly accessible, verifiable, and user-friendly. It should contain information, such as which vaccines had arrived or were arriving, their quantity, and where and how many vaccines had been distributed.

At the same time, the vaccine tracker should include who had so far been vaccinated, among other relevant information.

“The vaccine tracker will be an important tool to regain trust among the public. Aside from being able to clearly see where we are or the progress of vaccination, this could show that the NTF is committed to transparency and accountability throughout the whole process,” Hontiveros said.

Hontiveros also said that the tracker would serve as a guide to senior citizens for when the vaccination program focuses on them.

“A vaccine tracker that is easy to understand is an important part of our response as we move forward. Especially now that we may find ourselves back to square one after a year of the pandemic, every measurement of accountability is crucial,” she said.

The Philippines began its COVID-19 vaccination program on March 1 after the arrival of 600,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccines, which was immediately followed by 487,000 doses of vaccines from AstraZeneca.

On March 7, another batch of 38,400 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines arrived in the country. — DVM, GMA News