The Department of Health (DOH) should make sure no vaccines would go to waste despite its plan to acquire bivalent COVID-19 vaccines.
Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go, chair of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, made the appeal as he expressed concerns over the effectiveness of the vaccines.
“(Itong) bivalent vaccines, pag-aralan munang mabuti kung epektibo na ba ito para sa atin ngayon (These bivalent vaccines, first study carefully if it is effective for us now),” Go said in a recent interview in San Nicolas, Batangas.
“Hindi pa nga nauubos ang mga bakunang nandidiyan, nae-expire (na) nga ang iba, so I’m sure mas alam po ito ng ating mga health officials kung ano ang dapat gawin sa ngayon. Kung nararapat na bang bumili, kakailanganin na ba? (There are still vaccines here that have not even been used up, others are already expiring, so I'm sure our health officials know better what to do now. If it is appropriate to buy, will it be necessary)?,” Go pointed out.
“Makukumbinsi ba natin ang mga kababayan natin na magpaturok nito. Dapat po walang masayang. Pero mas importante sa akin ‘yung buhay at kalusugan ng bawat Pilipino. Mas mabuti na ‘yung ahead tayo na hindi tayo mabibigla... Mas mabuti na ‘yung protektado tayo sa sakit (Can we convince our countrymen to be injected with it? Not one should be wasted. But the life and health of every Filipino is more important to me. It's better that we're ahead so that we won't be surprised... It's better that we're protected from the disease),” he underscored.
DOH Officer-in-Charge Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire had earlier told senators in a Senate hearing that bivalent vaccines are expected to be available in the country by the first quarter of 2023.
Go said he hopes the government’s pandemic recovery efforts would further hasten the country’s recovery and return to normalcy.
“I’m sure pinag-aaralan ito ng ating DOH officials. Suportado ko po ito kung saka-sakali as your chairman sa Committee on Health sa Senado, suportado ko po kung ang plano ng DOH officials natin basta protektado po ang kalusugan at buhay ng bawat Pilipino (I'm sure our DOH officials are studying it. I will support this as your chairman of the Committee on Health in the Senate, I will support the plan of our DOH officials as long as the health and life of every Filipino is protected,” he stressed.
Likewise, Go renewed his call for the Commission on Audit (COA) to audit funds used for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines in light of issues on vaccine wastage.