MANILA, Philippines — Teachers will not be asked to administer COVID-19 vaccines once the country begins the inoculation program this year, the Department of Health said Wednesday.
Instead, educators could be tapped to help in disseminating information on COVID-19 vaccines and the government’s immunization program.
“Teachers will not administer vaccines. If we ask for their help, they can be part of teams for information dissemination, and mobilizing and engaging communities. But nothing is final yet. It is only one of the recommendations,” DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a briefing.
The DOH is also looking at deploying pharmacists and midwives as vaccinators. So far, only physicians and doctors are allowed to administer vaccines.
Pharmacists are authorized to vaccinate, provided they will undergo trainings on the safe administration of shots and management of adverse event following immunization.
Midwives are also allowed to administer vaccines, especially in the DOH’s national immunization program.
Vergeire said they will hold meetings with pharmacists and midwives to discuss their possible roles in the vaccination program.
Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez earlier told ABS-CBN News Channel that some 25,000 vaccinators are already being trained.
The government had already identified a total of 4,512 fixed vaccination sites, with each center aiming to immunize 300 people a day.
The target is to vaccinate 50 to 70 million Filipinos against COVID-19 in 2021 alone with the first shots expected to arrive as early as February.
With over 505,000 COVID-19 cases and 10,000 deaths, the Philippines has the second worst coronavirus outbreak in Southeast Asia.