A lawmaker has raised questions regarding the decision of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to hold the vaccination of adolescents against COVID-19 in selected hospitals in Metro Manila.

The IATF earlier selected the Philippine Children's Medical Center, National Children's Hospital, Philippine Heart Center, Pasig City Children's Hospital, Fe Del Mundo Medical Center, Philippine General Hospital, St. Luke's Medical Center (Bonifacio Global City), and Makati Medical Center for minor vaccination.

Iloilo 1st District Rep. Janette Garin, a former secretary of the Health Department, however, claimed the decision was made without regard to science, but as a product of "fake news and misinformation."

“While I understand the need for precautions, common sense would dictate that the hospital setting is not the safest place to be during a pandemic. Doing vaccination in hospitals will expose our teenage children to more viruses and possibly to COVID-19,” said Garin/

Garin also stressed that the decision to hold vaccination of minors in hospitals will add more burden to the “already exhausted, overworked, and underpaid frontline health workers.”

She also noted that vaccinations of people who are at high risk of acquiring COVID-19 such as senior citizens and people with comorbidities were held in schools, covered courts, and open areas.

“If the more fragile population was vaccinated outside hospitals, then why are we risking our teens to go to hospitals?” she stressed.

Garin is also wondering if the IATF’s decision is guided by science and if it consulted the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG) and other experts on this matter before pushing with its vaccination of adolescents in hospitals.

“Were hospitals, who are already overloaded, consulted if they have the capacity and the manpower to do the added work? Were parents given a choice if they want their teenagers to go to hospitals or to community vaccination sites?” she asked.

“Why are we not using science to make policy decisions in our COVID response? The science is there. The facts are there. The good medical and economic suggestions are there,” she added.