DOH says vaccinators committing human errors won't be penalized
MANILA, Philippines — Health workers who commit “human errors” when administering COVID-19 jabs will not be penalized, the Department of Health said Friday.
However, vaccinators who will make mistakes on purpose will be punished, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said.
“We do not intend to penalize anybody. We are investigating [incidents] to improve our protocols in the coming days,” Vergeire said in Filipino during a briefing.
“If it was intentional, we will penalize them. But we can see these lapses in the process were not done with ill intentions,” she said.
Videos of medical workers inserting needles into the arms of vaccine recipients but failing to press the plunger to release the contents of the syringe circulated on social media this week.
This prompted the department to re-orient health workers on vaccine administration protocols. The agency also recommended the shift of vaccinators must be kept to eight hours to minimize fatigue and prevent mistakes.
Vergeire also said vaccinators may show the syringe used in the inoculation to ensure they are vaccinated properly.
“If vaccination sites want to do show the syringe before and after the vaccination process, we will support that,” she said.
Since March, over 2.52 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated, while 7.53 million have received their first dose. — Gaea Katreena Cabico
- Latest
- Trending
