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With everyone watching, the UK began its mass vaccination program against Covid-19 on Tuesday, with a nurse from the Philippines administering the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to Margaret Keenan, a 90-year-old grandmother who was the first person in the world to receive the vaccine outside of clinical trials.
Philippine nurse May Parsons, who injected Keenan with the vaccine, is one of 18,000 Filipinos working for Britain’s National Health Service. In an interview with Good morning Great Britain, Parsons said: “I am very happy to tell all Filipinos in the country and in the world that we can make a difference.” He described the Covid vaccination in the UK as a “landmark event” for Filipinos globally, who are proud of the care they provide in the medical sector amid the pandemic.
Ambassador Daniel Pruce, British envoy to the Philippines, praised the Filipino nurse in a tweet. “What a fantastic time! And it’s good to see that the vaccine is administered by Nurse May Parsons from the Philippines, one of the many thousands of Filipino healthcare workers who make such a huge contribution to #NHS, ”Pruce said.
The Philippines is widely known as the world’s leading exporter of nurses. It would not be surprising to find Filipino nurses working in hospitals around the world. You cannot help the nursing diaspora because the country produces thousands of nurses every year. According to the Global Medical Information Research Information Center, the Philippines has an annual output of about 38,000 nurses and 4,500 physicians. And Filipino nurses around the world have a reputation for providing quality patient care. That is why countries that lack nurses prefer to hire Filipino nurses.
In the days of the pandemic, our nurses and other medical workers are the true unsung heroes. Unfortunately, they are overworked and underpaid. According to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), an entry-level registered nurse receives an average salary of P8,000 to P13,500 per month in a private hospital. In a government health facility, the average monthly salary is around P13,500. Earlier this year, President Duterte signed the Wage Standardization Act that increases the net pay of government employees, including nurses, effective January 1, 2020. But the increase of around P1,500 is relatively insignificant. Philippine nurses in the United States earn an average of more than P300,000 per month.
With the launch of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in the UK, hopes are growing that the pandemic is beginning to end. President Duterte allowed the emergency use of Covid vaccines and drugs last week, 10 months after the crisis that has seen more than 443,000 Filipinos infected and 8,670 deaths. Malacañang said on Monday that around 24.6 million Filipinos are on the government’s priority list for its initial Covid-19 vaccination campaign. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said areas with a high Covid count like Metro Manila, Metro Cebu and Davao are “geographic priorities” for vaccination. Of these areas, 24,668,128 “sector priorities” have been selected, including the following: 1,762,994 frontline health workers; 3,789,874 indigent elderly; 5,678,544 remaining elderly people; 12,911,193 remaining indigent population; and 525,523 uniformed.
The list shared by DOH Representative Dr. Aleli Annie Sudiacal with the House Popular Participation Committee showed that teachers and school workers from the public and private sectors are ranked sixth on the priority list, followed by the following: seventh: all remaining government workers; 8th: “essential workers” in agriculture, food industry, transport and tourism; 9th: sociodemographic groups in significantly higher risk areas other than the elderly and the indigent population (people deprived of liberty, people with disabilities and Filipinos living in high-density areas); 10th: Filipino workers abroad; 11th: other remaining workforce; 12th: students.
It is great news that Filipinos will soon have a Covid vaccine. This gives our people hope that the nightmare of this pandemic will soon be brought under control. As we welcome the encouraging news, let us hear from the Executive Director of the International Council of Nurses, Howard Catton: “A successful vaccination program is much more than just a stick in the arm, and the huge and unprecedented task of vaccinating women. people of the world is the public health equivalent of putting someone on the moon. The ICN believes that mass vaccination programs will face a number of obstacles that only experienced nurses can help overcome. “
Without a doubt, the success of our fight against Covid-19 will depend on front-line nurses and other healthcare workers. Let’s remember our unsung heroes when Covid is gone.
