Vaccination of teens inside hospitals questioned by ex-Health chief
JANETTE GARIN – The former secretary of the Department of Health (DOH) questioned the vaccination of teens inside hospitals.
The COVID-19 vaccination has rolled out across the country to combat the rapid increase of coronavirus disease.
Among those who were on the priority list of the COVID-19 vaccination program are medical frontliners, persons with comorbidities, and senior citizens.
Pfizer, Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Sputnik V are some of the vaccines available in the country.
As of October 19, 2021, about 53,315,069 total vaccine doses have been administered throughout the country, with 24,694,717 being fully vaccinated.
Earlier this week, vaccination for teens aged 15 to 17 has started.
Minors from Metro Manila with comorbidity like heart, kidney, and respiratory problems are the first to get jabs.
As of October 18, a total of 1509 minors received the first dose of vaccine against coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19.
The new phase of vaccination drive is currently being done in select hospitals in the National Capital Region.
But Iloilo Representative and former Health Secretary Janette Garin questioned the inoculations in hospitals.
According to her, vaccination should be done in public centers since it is risky to expose minors in hospitals where the high transmission of COVID-19 usually transpires.
The health chief also said that hospitals are already overloaded.
DOH has yet to comment on Garin’s remark as of press time.
Meanwhile, the government is mulling to add more hospitals since only eight hospitals have been used for the first week of pediatric vaccination rollout.
DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said they have received reports that some of the minors who received jabs have experienced side effects.
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