DOH CITES ‘NO WRONG DOOR’ POLICY, DENIES VACCINE FAVORITISM

ANY person can be vaccinated anywhere in the country as part of the “no wrong door” policy of the Covid-19 vaccine rollout, an official of the Department of Health (DOH) clarified on Monday.

“Kung ikaw ay nagpunta sa Davao at ikaw ay puwede nang bakunahan, puwede ka bakunahan doon kahit hindi ka tagadavao [If you happen to be in Davao but you are not from there, you can be inoculated there],” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in an online media forum.

However, she stressed, they should have a proper appointment, as the DOH discourages local government units from accepting walk-ins.

It may be recalled that on June 3, some Davao residents questioned why former Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, who visited Mayor Sara Dutertecarpio, was inoculated in Davao City. Teodoro, who is being touted in some quarters as a possible running mate of Mayor Duterte-carpio in 2022, is a resident of Tarlac.

“Hindi po natin sinasara ang ating mga pinto sa mga bakunahan dahil hindi ka taga doon na lugar [We should not be closing our door when it comes to vaccination because simply because they are not from that place],” the DOH official said.

Fair share

UNDERSECRETARY Abdullah Dumama Jr., DOH Field Implementation Cluster Team for Visayas and Mindanao, meanwhile, stressed that there is no “favoritism” when it comes to vaccine distribution.

Dumama made the clarification after allegations surfaced that Davao, the hometown of President Duterte, has been receiving the bulk of Pfizer vaccines as compared to other areas.

He reiterated that both Davao and Cebu have ultra-low-temperature freezers, required to store the Pfizer vaccine.

“Wala pong pagkakaiba yung doses na naibigay sa Cebu at sa Davao .... Wala hong favoritism dito [There is no such thing as favoritism here. Davao and Cebu received the same doses of Pfizer vaccine],” Dumama said in the same media briefing.

He said the 210,000 doses of Pfizer delivered to Davao are for the whole province and not for the city alone.

Vergeire echoed Dumama by saying “there is no favoritism, [this] vaccine rollout is based on prioritization framework].”

She added that there are only five regions in the country that don’t have have ultra-low-temperature freezers yet.

These are: Bangsamoro, Caraga, Soccsksargen, Bicol, and Mimaropa.

However, Dumama said that currently, the Bangsamoro parliament is already preparing a resolution authorizing the autonomous region to procure such freezers, including additional testing facilities there.

Vaccine rollout

AS of June 20, a total of 8,407,342 doses have already been administered.

The DOH said that 6,253,400 have received their first dose while 2,153,942 have already completed the required two doses.

“The total doses administered in the 16th week of our national vaccination reached a record high of 1,461,666 doses,” the DOH said.

The government is also urging eligible populations belonging to priority groups A1 to A5 to register with their local government units, get vaccinated and complete the required number of doses as scheduled.

“Regardless of vaccination status, everyone is urged to continue practicing the minimum public health standards as you may still get infected with Covid-19 and infect other people,” the DOH concluded.