The Department of Health said that it is still searching for around 600,000 in the government’s master list for the priority vaccination program.
According to DOH Undersecretary and spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire, around 1.8 million healthcare workers in the country should be prioritized in the vaccination program.
Some healthcare workers however are working as freelancers or those who are working in private companies.
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“Sa ngayon kapag tiningnan po natin ‘yung mga nabakunahan at tsaka naimasterlist ng ating local government units at implementing sites, ‘yung ating 1.8 [million] na estimate na healthcare workers ay hindi pa po natin sila nasasagad,” Vergeire said in an interview on ABS-CBN News.
“Hindi pa po natin sila nahahanap, dahil nga po maraming mga healthcare workers natin ngayon dealing with COVID are not affiliated in any of the institutions or facilities that we have right now,” she added.
Vergeire said that the current masterlist contains 1.2 million names of healthcare workers.
“Doon sa estimate natin bago tayo nag-umpisa we have a 1.8 million total estimate for our healthcare workers, so meron tayong difference dyan na mga 600,000,” she added.
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Doctors in private establishments have also yet to receive their vaccination shots.
The DOH has tasked local government units to locate the remaining healthcare workers who have yet to receive the vaccines.
The country has administered 508,332 doses of COVID-19 vaccines as first shots. (TDT)
