TACLOBAN CITY – While the Department of Health (DOH) instructed not to announce vaccine brands being used in inoculation sites, An Waray Party-List Representative Florencio ‘Bem’ Noel maintains that it is the public’s right to know what vaccines they are getting.
“The public should know before they get inoculated. We each have our preference where we are comfortable. Maybe what’s inconvenient for others does not matter, but it matters for others who go and get disappointed that you get vaccinated not by your preferred brand. At least you still have the chance to say no,” he pointed out.
Local government units have been ordered to stop announcing in advance what brands of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines they have in stock following the directive from President Rodrigo Duterte.
Said order is meant to discourage crowds from converging at vaccination centers following reports of overcrowding and lack of social distancing that ensued in the inoculation sites where Pfizer jabs were offered.
However, the official said that others who just want to be protected cannot be taken out of the equation.
“It is their right to choose but which is more important, to be protected or not? While it is their right, it is what the state can provide right now,” he said.
He added that the state must find a vaccine, which is what they are doing, adding, “In the absence of local suppliers, whatever arrives is what they can offer to the public.”
“If our means are not enough, why should we blame the government? That is why we are discussing new taxing because it is where we get funding,” he said, citing that Congress has been discussing ways to help the government’s vaccination program.
Rep. Noel said he is waiting for his turn for vaccination being under the A4 priority list.
“I want to be protected so if I don’t have the choice, then I’ll get whatever is available regardless of the brand,” he said. By Marie Tonette Marticio