Senator Sonny Angara, chairman of the Senate Finance committee, on Sunday raised the possibility that the P650 million advertising budget of the Department of Health (DOH) be rechannelled to support the government’s vaccination drive.
Angara said there are other developments or health crisis that the DOH has to take into account such as the outbreak of dengue and polio, which would require additional funding to address.
The proposed P160 billion budget of the DOH, Angara said has already been taken up at the committee level. It will be subject to further scrutiny during the plenary debates on the 2020 national budget next month.
During the plenary debates, senators would be allowed to introduce their respective amendments, which could mean augmenting or reducing particular items in the proposed budgets of the different agencies.
The DOH will have a total of P7.54 billion for its national immunization program in 2020.
Under the program, vaccines will be administered for free to children, pregnant women, men and women.
More or less 2.7 million infants will be given vaccines against tuberculosis, hepatitis B, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, measles, rubella, influenza and polio. Two million of these infants will be given flu shots.
The Department of Education would be part of the program through the administration of vaccines against tetanus, diphtheria, measles and rubella to 2.4 million Grade1 and 1.9 million Grade 7 students.
Some 2.7 million pregnant women will be given anti-tetanus vaccines while for the elderly, two million flu shots and 500,000 units of pneumonia vaccines will be made available.
“Kung ano man ang kulang pa, sabihin sa amin ng DOH. Pero hindi nangangahulugan na dagdag-pondo kaagad. Baka pwede, lipat-pondo within the budget of DOH,” Angara said.