A lawmaker at the House of Representatives suggested the mass hiring of nurses and medical technologists to ramp up the government’s vaccination drive, especially with the start of the program for all minors aged 12 to 17.
Rizal Representative Fidel Nograles said it will also be crucial to accelerate the national vaccination rate to ensure population protection before the end of the year or even earlier.
“Such an act will hit both our public health and unemployment concerns.”
“We can even hit two birds with one stone by employing qualified health professionals. Such an act will hit both our public health and unemployment concerns,” Nograles said.
Vaccine Czar Carlito Galvez announced that the country will start its rollout of COVID-19 vaccination for minors aged 12 to 17 as early as the first week of November.
President Rodrigo Duterte earlier ordered local government units to fast-track their respective vaccination drives to meet the government’s target of having 50 million fully inoculated Filipinos by the end of 2021.
The legislator said it is just right to involve the Commission on Higher Education and student groups in persuading the youth to avail of the life-saving vaccines.
“We are over the issue of low vaccine supply and as such, we need to do everything to speed up our economic recovery.”
“We are over the issue of low vaccine supply and as such, we need to do everything to speed up our economic recovery. I believe we are on the right track and as children will soon be fully protected, we are not too far from returning to face-to-face classes and the new normal,” the lawmaker stressed.
He noted that some student groups calling for a “Ligtas na Balik-Eskwela” (safe return to schools) could be tapped for help in making their demand happen.
“They can even probably help us locate unemployed graduates of health-related degrees in our quest to find more vaccinators,” Nograles said.
The Department of Health aims to administer the COVID-19 vaccine jabs to 80 percent of the youth population belonging to the 12 to 17 age group within the year.
There are around 12.7 million children in that age group in 2021, according to the data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.
The government initially began on Oct. 15 the inoculation of minors with health risks only in select areas in Metro Manila.
