By Pearl Gumapos
National Task Force Against COVID-19 medical adviser Dr. Ted Herbosa on Wednesday (Feb. 16) said that COVID-19 is safe for Muslims and that it is not haram and that most vaccines came from plants.
“Ang ating mga kapatid na Muslim ay nagdududa tungkol sa [pagka-halal]. Nag-announce na ang National Commission ng Muslim Affairs na aprubado naman ito at hindi po haram ang mga bakuna at wala namang galing sa mga animals. Most of the vaccines that we got come from plant products,” Herbosa said during the Laging Handa public briefing.
“Ang sabi ng ating mga Muslim leaders na basta for public good, iyan ay halal,” he added.
Meanwhile, Herbosa stressed that communication was important in addressing vaccine hesitancy amongst Filipinos.
“Ngayon, it’s really about communications. Kagaya ng ginawa natin sa NCR at saka iba pang regions. Talagang pinaigting natin iyong communication at pag-uusap sa ating mga kababayan na nagdududa,” he said.
He also said that to address the challenge of delivering vaccines to far-flung areas, the supply chain management must be precise so that no vaccines will go to waste.
“Iyan ang isang challenge namin because cold chain itong mga bakuna. Although karamihan sa kanila ay puwede na doon sa refrigeration only, siyempre marami tayong Pfizer and Moderna na kailangan nung ultra low temperature freezer,” he said.
“Because of that, hindi mo agad ma-deploy sa mga remote areas. Iyong supply chain management mo ay precise para walang masasayang na mga bakuna. So, very important na ma-maintain ang ating cold chain habang ang mga bakuna ay dini-deliver sa mga malalayong lugar sa Mindanao,” he added. – bny
