FORMER health secretary and House deputy majority leader Janette Garin said on Monday that the Department of Health must have a group of experts who should speak about their specializations in the medical field to ensure that information given to the public are factual.

Garin described DOH as a ‘very important institution’ that the public looks up to as a credible agency where only real experts must be allowed to be interviewed.

“The health department must have a team of doctors and talking heads who can immediately liaise with with real specialty societies and each specialty society can assign a spokesperson,” Garin, a doctor, said in an interview with ANC’s Headstart.

“It has been documented several times that when you demonize a certain vaccine it creates mistrust in all vaccination and public health programs,” the Iloilo First District representative added.

Garin also mentioned that the Doctors for Truth, composed of medical experts, academicians, scientists and former health secretaries have called on the DOH not to allow the Public Attorney’s Office to propagate anti-vaccine advocacies and sentiments.

She also raised awareness regarding the infodemic wherein there are “too much information including, false or misleading information” being disseminated to the public which have result med in mistrust to health programs.

“The impact of fake news and anti-vaccine campaign transcend to even those who are supposed to be protected by vaccines,” the doctor-lawmaker stressed. (END)