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Veteran's hospital open to probe of House lawmaker’s COVID-19 vaccination

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ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/news/03/02/20200204-coronavirus-helen-tan-mb-3113.jpg"/><figcaption>Quezon Rep. Angelina &quot;Helen&quot; Tan, M.D. during her guesting at ANC&#x27;s Headstart on February, 2020. <em>Michael Bagtas, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA - The Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) said Thursday it is open to the plan of the COVID-19 National Task Force to look into a lawmaker’s recent vaccination against COVID-19 there.</p><p>Vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez earlier said in a television interview that they plan to investigate the inoculation of government officials supposedly with the Chinese-donated vaccines, which are meant for health workers. </p><p>Quezon Rep. Helen Tan had said that she was vaccinated on the second day of the hospital’s vaccine rollout as her son works as a surgeon at the VMMC, where personnel have allocations for their families under the government&#x27;s legal vaccination program.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/02/21/house-health-panel-chair-gets-covid-19-jab">READ: House health panel chair gets COVID-19 jab</a></li></ul><p>But based on the <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/25/20/health-workers-elderlies-poor-pinoys-prioritized-to-get-covid-19-vaccine-on-initial-program">government’s priority list</a>, frontline healthcare workers, the elderly, and other frontline personnel should be vaccinated first, given limited supply of the COVID-19 jabs. </p><p>VMMC Director Dr. Dominador Chiong Jr. said that Tan’s intention was given a different meaning when she accepted Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine. </p><p>“Congresswoman Helen Tan, personal na opinyon ko lang ho ito (this is just my personal opinion), being the chairman of the (House Committee on) Health, even wanted to show to everyone that vaccination with the Sinovac would be most advantageous. With her position, she could have access to whatever vaccine she wants. Mukhang nababaligtad ‘yung intent eh (It looks like the intent became different),” said Chiong. </p><div><strong> RELATED VIDEO: </strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1631679" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>He added that given the number of personnel under the Department of National Defense (DND), its attached agencies and the VMMC, the DND decided there is room to allow the allocation of vaccine doses to a maximum of three dependents per employee.</p><p>Sought for comment on reports that authorities want to investigate her vaccination, Tan said there is no need to investigate her vaccination. </p><p>“I can’t see any reason for them to investigate. I am a medical doctor despite being a congresswoman. [A] part of my regular rounds every week is giving free consultation to sick people,” she said. </p><p>Tan, in a separate statement earlier in the day, also said she did not receive any “special treatment” during the vaccination and that the COVID-19 vaccine was a “rightful allocation” to her given that her son works at the said hospital. </p><p>The lawmaker also emphasized that her inoculation was legal. </p><p>“In getting COVID-19 shot, it was my intention, more than anything else, to help boost vaccine confidence of the public in the face of widespread concerns of Filipinos on the COVID-19 vaccine&#x27;s effects, efficacy, and safety,” the statement read. </p><p>“As far as I know, I did not violate any existing laws, legal guidelines or regulations whatsoever when I took the jab,” she added. </p><div><strong>VACCINATION AT THE VMMC</strong></div><p>Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana previously said that with just more than 14,000 who registered to get Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine in his department, they would only need close to 30,000 of the 100,000 doses donated by China. </p><p>The rest, he said, would be given to the Armed Forces of the Philippines.</p><p>The VMMC, meanwhile, aimed to complete first the rollout of its Sinovac vaccine allocation before requesting AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 shots.</p><p>“Ang magpapabakuna lang ng AstraZeneca ‘yung hindi na-cover ng Sinovac by virtue ng age nila. Iilan lang naman ‘yung personal choice,” he added.</p><p>(Those who want to be vaccinated with AstraZeneca are only those people not covered with Sinovac by virtue of their age. Only some people had it as their personal vaccine choice.) </p><p>VMMC sees increasing confidence in Sinovac&#x27;s COVID-19 shots, as the hospital recorded steady growth in the daily number of vaccine recipients for the first three days of its inoculation program. </p><p>The hospital vaccinated 365 of its personnel, as well as some staff from the DND, last Monday. It was also able to vaccinate some 776 personnel on Tuesday and 1,117 on Wednesday.</p><p>The Philippines has secured 600,000 COVID-19 shots from Beijing-based Sinovac Biotech, and is set to receive later Thursday 487,200 doses of the coronavirus vaccine from Britain&#x27;s AstraZeneca.</p><div><strong>— Reports from Vivienne Gulla and RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News</strong></div>

<p>Based on the government’s prioritization, frontline healthcare workers, the elderlies, and other frontline personnel should be vaccinated first, given the limited supply of the COVID-19 jabs. </p>

Based on the government’s prioritization, frontline healthcare workers, the elderlies, and other frontline personnel should be vaccinated first, given the limited supply of the COVID-19 jabs.