Duterte’s security team receives Chinese Covid-19 vaccine not yet approved by Philippine regulators
- No vaccine has been approved by the country’s Food and Drug Administration, which is required before it can be rolled out across the country
- Asked whether Duterte had been immunised, security chief said the president was still waiting ‘for the perfect or appropriate vaccine’
The Philippines is in talks with several pharmaceutical firms, including Britain’s AstraZeneca, US company Pfizer and China’s Sinopharm, to secure 60 million doses for a vaccination drive starting as early as the second quarter of 2021.
No vaccine has been approved by the country’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is required before it can be rolled out across the country of 110 million people.
But the Presidential Security Group (PSG) – which is tasked with protecting Duterte – said some of its personnel have already been inoculated.
“The PSG administered Covid-19 vaccine to its personnel performing close-in security operations to the president,” unit chief Brigadier General Jesus Durante said in a statement, without specifying how many got the drug.
Asked if Duterte had been immunised, Durante said the president was still waiting “for the perfect or appropriate vaccine”.
