With the upcoming launch of the COVID-19 vaccination program in the country, the master list of recipients is being prepared.
For now, the government will first rely on various master lists of agencies and local government units rather than waiting for the implementation of the national ID system.
“Secretary Galvez and the [Department of the Interior and Local Government] has requested the local government units to do their own master listing. We have master list from resources, ‘yung indigent population, senior citizens are available from various agencies and we are trying to integrate them,” said Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje.
The master list is said to be important not only to know how many have been vaccinated but also to monitor the side effects of the vaccines against COVID-19.
There will also be a vaccine tracker to show how many have been vaccinated.
One person will monitor the recipients of the vaccine to see if they will have an adverse event following immunization (AEFI).
According to a consultant from the World Health Organization (WHO), the public needs to understand the cause of side effects.
Master list COVID-19 vaccine recipients being prepared
AEFI is said to be an allergic reaction, or due to a quality defect or a mistake in injecting or handling the vaccine.
According to the DOH, an allergy test or swab test is not required to be vaccinated, although they may issue different protocols for each vaccine.
The Department of Health also asserted that priority sectors will still be vaccinated against COVID-19 before the soldiers’ families.
This is after President Rodrigo Duterte said last weekend that he wants to give priority to the families of soldiers when it comes to the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Yes, we agree with the President that the families of health workers and the soldiers will be included but this is after we have vaccinated the soldiers and the health workers,” said Cabotaje.