Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 28) — The Department of Health on Monday confirmed an “isolated” case of breach in COVID-19 vaccination protocols, ensuring a thorough investigation will be conducted to prevent a similar incident.
DOH confirmed the video circulating on social media showing a volunteer nurse administering the COVID-19 vaccine struck the needle into the arm of a woman, but did not press the plunger that will release the contents.
“This is a clear breach of vaccination protocol,” DOH said in a statement. “The vaccine recipient, who was filming the incident, noticed that the healthcare worker failed to push the contents of the syringe. The vaccination site was quick to address the mistake and she was successfully vaccinated after showing the video to the vaccination team.”
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III was appalled with the negligence, but he said it was an honest mistake.
“It can be attributed to honest error on the part na nakalimutang itusok yung karga,” he said. “Sa mga mamamayan, baka pwede maya’t-maya silipin ninyo kung ang syringe ay talagang naubos ang karga. Pagod din ang ating bakunador.”
[Translation: It can be attributed to an honest error when they forgot to inject the content. To the public, maybe you can check if the contents of the syringe is used up. Our vaccinators are also tired.]
He also reminded all vaccinators to exercise an abundance of caution during inoculation.
Makati Mayor Abby Binay said the nurse has already sent an apology, which she said she accepted because it was a “human error.”
Earlier, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said the video and audio, where a Tagalog conversation can be heard, could have been manipulated to cast doubts on the government’s vaccination drive.
“Imbestigahan natin kung authentic ang video kasi lumalabas galing ang video sa Indonesia at ibang area… Ang tagal natin nagva-vaccinate, wala tayong instances na ganyan. Ang nakita nong viral na yan noon pa. I think somebody wanted to stir up controversy against our ongoing national vaccination program. Kung talagang totoo yan, we will penalize,” he said.
[Translation: We will investigate the authenticity of the video. It seems it came from Indonesia or another area. We have been conducting vaccinations for so long, but there have been no similar instances. I’ve seen that viral video before. I think somebody wanted to stir up controversy against our ongoing national vaccination program. If it’s true, we will penalize those at fault.]
Over 10 million COVID-19 shots have been administered in the country since March, with at least 2.52 million Filipinos completing their vaccination.
CNN Philippines correspondent Melissa Lopez contributed to this report.
