COVID-19

Bill seeks to tap dentists, med techs as COVID-19 vaccinators

Rambo Talabong

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Bill seeks to tap dentists, med techs as COVID-19 vaccinators

PROTECTION. A senior resident receives his first jab of a COVID-19 vaccine at the Pasay Giga Vaccination Center on May 14, 2021.

Rappler

Lawmakers seek to boost the Philippines’ sluggish pace of vaccination

House lawmakers filed a bill on Tuesday, May 18, seeking to include dentists and medical technologists as vaccinators against COVID-19.

Quezon 4th District Representative Helen Tan, Quezon City 6th District Representative Kit Belmonte, and Marikina City 2nd District Representative Stella Quimbo filed House Bill No. 9354 that will amend Republic Act No. 11525 or the COVID-19 Vaccination Program Act.

The bill adds dentists and medical technologists as COVID-19 vaccinators to boost the country’s sluggish pace of vaccination.

“With the arrival of more vaccines in the country, the swift rollout of the vaccine is needed for the efficient administration and prevention of possible expiration of the doses,” the bill’s explanatory note states.

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TRACKER: The Philippines’ COVID-19 vaccine distribution

TRACKER: The Philippines’ COVID-19 vaccine distribution

Aside from doctors and medical professionals, RA 11525 so far only lets duly trained pharmacists and midwives to administer doses of government-approved COVID-19 vaccines.

As of May 15, the Philippine government has administered at least one anti-COVID vaccine shot to 2,245,397 Filipinos – around 2.6% of the population.

The rate of vaccination has repeatedly been flagged by Quimbo, explaining that at the current rate of vaccination, the government’s promise of vaccinating 70 million Filipinos by the end of 2021 for herd immunity would be impossible. – Rappler.com

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Rambo Talabong

Rambo Talabong covers the House of Representatives and local governments for Rappler. Prior to this, he covered security and crime. He was named Jaime V. Ongpin Fellow in 2019 for his reporting on President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs. In 2021, he was selected as a journalism fellow by the Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics.