PhilHealth will provide a P100,000 compensation package for a member who experiences serious adverse effects and is hospitalized after receiving COVID-19 vaccines.
For permanent disability or death, the member or their beneficiary will receive a lump sum of up to P100,000 to be paid only once.
PhilHealth Vice Pres. Shirley Domingo that the compensation package will be available until March 2, 2026, or until the country completes the COVID-19 vaccination program.
The President may extend it, depending on the recommendation of the advisory committee.
A member’s hospitalization must first be assessed for direct casualty or directly related to the vaccine to be eligible for compensation.
Despite rumors of COVID-19 deaths among those who have completed the vaccine against the virus, the Department of Health (DOH) has confirmed that it has not yet happened in the Philippines while emphasizing that it provides appropriate protection against the disease.
It is estimated that as many as 750 fully vaccinated people have died in the United States (asymptomatic and without COVID-19), while some doctors in Indonesia have died despite “complete vaccination.”
PhilHealth to give P100K insurance to those with ‘adverse effects’ of COVID-19 vaccines
“[A]tin pong binibigyan ng garantiya ang ating mga kababayan na hanggang sa ngayon, wala pa hong namamatay na fully vaccinated individual dito po sa ating bansa as a result of COVID-19,” said Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, Tuesday.
“So we have zero cases as a result of COVID-19 vaccines, so ibig sabihin wala, at wala pa rin hong namamatay na fully vaccinated individuals because of COVID-19.”
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) currently has the mandate to record side effects or adverse events following immunization. However, the DOH and FDA are working together on their evaluation regarding what actually causes the deaths.
In April, FDA director-general Eric Domingo said 24 people had died after being injected with the COVID-19 vaccine. However, this is not due to the side effects of the vaccine.
It is still possible for COVID-19 to hit fully vaccinated (breakthrough infections). However, the data show that it can protect against (1) symptomatic disease, especially in (2) severe COVID-19 and hospitalization.
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