DOH probes breach in COVID-19 vaccination protocol

The Department of Health (DOH) on Monday said it was investigating a breach in COVID-19 vaccination protocol that was caught on video.

A video circulating on social media shows a health worker injecting a needle into the arm of a vaccine recipient without pushing the plunger, leaving the substance inside the syringe.

“This is a clear breach of vaccination protocol,” the DOH said in a statement, adding that it will coordinate with the concerned local government in its probe.

The agency assured the public, however, that the recipient who took the video was “successfully vaccinated” after showing the footage to the vaccination team.

“Sinisigurado po namin na ating iimbestigahan ang pangyayaring ito upang mapabuti ang ating national vaccination program,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said.

(We will make sure that this incident will be investigated to improve our national vaccination program.)

The DOH added that “immediate improvements in the protocol shall be made to ensure we limit the chances of this from happening again.”

The Philippines’ COVID-19 vaccination program has repeatedly stirred controversy, from President Rodrigo Duterte’s admission that soldiers received an unauthorized jab in 2020 to some government officials jumping the line in the first week of the rollout.

The country has administered over 10 million doses as of June 27, nearly four months since the launch of its inoculation campaign.

The government seeks to vaccinate 50 million to 70 million people this year.

The Philippines has logged 1,397,992 COVID-19 cases with 1,321,050 recoveries and 52,570 as of Sunday afternoon.—AOL, GMA News