Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 2) — The Department of Health on Friday said vaccinators who commit “human errors” when giving COVID-19 shots will not be penalized.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, however, said punishments will be enforced if the healthcare worker carried out the lapses intentionally.
“Halimbawa ito ay intentional na ginawa, diyan talaga, we will penalize. We can see that these were all, itong nakikita nating lapse in the processes, wala namang masamang intention,” she said in a media briefing. “These are really just human errors na gusto natin maimprove in the coming days kaya we are orienting them.”
[Translation: For example, if it was intentional, we will penalize them. We see that the lapses in the process were not done with bad intentions. These are really just human errors that we want to improve so we are orienting them.]
It was exposed this week that a volunteer nurse in Makati who injected the needle into the arm of a recipient forgot to press the syringe to release the vaccine. There were reports of similar incidents in other vaccination sites across Metro Manila.
These incidents have worried some of those vaccinated, questioning if they received the proper dosage.
Vergeire said the vaccinator may show the syringe and its contents to the recipient before and after the shots to help avoid improper inoculation.
“Kung ito ay gagawin ng ating mga vaccination sites para sa ikakapanatag ng loob ng ating kababayan, we can do that,” the official said.
[Translation: If vaccination sites want to do this to build the trust and confidence of the public, it’s an option.
The DOH underscored the importance of limiting the shifts of vaccinators to eight hours to minimize fatigue and ensure quality of service. It also suggested adding an aide to assist and lessen the work of the vaccinator.
