Gov’t officials not priority for COVID-19 vaccine – Duque

MANILA, Philippines – Health Secretary Francisco Duque III has admitted that the year 2020 was the most difficult year for the Department of Health (DOH).
“Basta ang masasabi ko ang 2020 is the most difficult year in the history of the Department. The most difficult,” he said emphasizing the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as the biggest challenge facing the global health care system this year.
“Even the most powerful countries talagang pinaiyak ng COVID-19. Lahat talaga umiyak dito. Sobrang takot, pag-aalangan, sobrang maraming mga unknowns,” he added.
Despite all these, the Health Chief is grateful for the public’s efforts to combat the virus, and that he hopes that a vaccine will be available by 2021.
“Hindi naman tayo natinag at patuloy naman tayo sa pag-unlad ng kapasidad natin across the five pillars of the pandemic response,” he said.
The country is now preparing its cold storage for the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines as they should remain in extremely low temperatures.
Duque added that the government should also tighten its border control to curb the spread of COVID-19 especially in the face of a new strain currently affecting a population in the United Kingdom.
While doing so, the country must also expand its health capacity, its capability to flatten the curve of infection, and maintain balance between the economy and health of the public.
“So iyong equilibrium na iyan napakamahalaga po dahil gaya ng sinabi ko—yung goal dito is really economic recovery and normalcy of the lives of our people,” he said.
“So marami po tayong ginagawa yung five: prevention, detection, isolation, treatment, and reintegration strategy in our pandemic response,” he added.
Meanwhile, Duque stressed that healthcare workers, the poorest Filipinos, and uniformed personnel are among the priorities for vaccination.
He assured that there will be no VIP treatment among government officials when it comes to access to the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Babantayan natin iyan kaya maganda po ang papel na ginagampanan ng media dahil talagang kasama po namin kayo na magmamatyag. We will look into this na wala pong mga tinatawag nating VIP treatment,” Duque said.
The Health Secretary still reminds the public to observe proper health protocols even with the availability of the vaccine so as to curb the spread of COVID-19. MNP (with reports from Aiko Miguel)