SunStar Duterte apologizes for use of Sinopharm vaccine
MANILA. President Rodrigo Duterte talks to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III before their meeting Wednesday night, May 5, 2021. (Malacañang photo)
+ May 06, 2021 PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has apologized for receiving a dose of the Sinopharm vaccine against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) and asked the Chinese ambassador to withdraw the vaccine.
“So we are sorry. You are right, we are wrong. Ang Sinopharm maybe tomorrow or the following day wala na ‘yan. I made it as a personal request,” Duterte said in another Talk to the People address late Wednesday night, May 5, 2021.
He said his doctor had recommended that he get the Sinopharm vaccine, which was also administered to “all Chinese officials.” Duterte did not name his doctor.
President Duterte (Malacañang Photo)
Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque made the statement after Duterte ordered the withdrawal of some 1,000 jabs of the Chinese-made vaccines from the Philippines on Wednesday because they have not been granted an emergency use authorization by the local Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
In his press briefing on Thursday, Roque said the Sinopharm vaccines would be sent back to China but President Duterte’s second dose would be secured.
“Siyempre, hindi ibabalik yung pang-second dose ni Presidente, para matapos niya ang second dose niya (Definitely we will not be returning his second dose so he can complete the vaccination),” he said.
Asia Today: Fiji sequesters hospital staff after COVID death
May 6, 2021 GMT
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) The military and police in the Pacific nation of Fiji have surrounded and locked down a major hospital amid concerns of a growing virus outbreak.
Health authorities say they’re quarantining 400 patients, doctors, nurses and staff within the compound until they can determine who had contact with a coronavirus patient who died.
The 53-year-old patient at Lautoka Hospital was just the third person in Fiji to die from the virus but the nation’s leaders are deeply worried that the latest outbreak is spreading, especially after two doctors at the hospital tested positive for the virus.
Handout Presidential Communications Operations Office
President Rodrigo Duterte apologized to the Philippine public after he was criticized for being inoculated this week with an unauthorized COVID-19 vaccine which food and drug regulators have not approved for local emergency use.
In a late-night address on Wednesday, Duterte said he told the Chinese envoy to Manila to take back the 1,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine that Beijing had donated to the Philippines. The government had released photos of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III giving Duterte a shot of the vaccine on Monday.
“So we are sorry. You are right. We are wrong,” Duterte said. “By tomorrow or the next day, Sinopharm will be gone.
Published May 6, 2021, 11:42 AM
The government would never lie about the data about the country’s coronavirus situation, including pace of the vaccination drive, President Duterte said Wednesday.
Government frontliners receive Sputnik V coronavirus vaccines at the vaccination hub in Taguig City on May 04, 2021 (Ali Vicoy/Manila Bulletin)
According to the President, the government will not cover up the truth about the country’s statistics since falsifying information carries a heavy penalty.
The President made the assurance to the public while reading a list showing the Philippines ranked third in the rollout of vaccines among 10 Southeast Asian neighbors.
Indonesia topped the list with over 20 million doses administered, followed by Singapore with 2.2 million and the Philippines with 2 million. The “Vaccination Rollout in ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations),” presented by vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. during the meeting with the President and other governmen