MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte will still receive his second dose of Sinopharm’s coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine (COVID-19) despite asking China to pull out the said brands in the Philippines due to lack of emergency use authorization (EUA).
On Thursday, Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the second dose intended for the President will not be among the 1,000 doses that will be returned.
Duterte apologized on Wednesday evening for getting the unregistered vaccine even if it was covered by a compassionate special permit issued by Food and Drug Administration (FDA), thus asking China to withdraw the donated vaccines.
Previously, Duterte is vocal that he prefers to get the Sinopharm’s jab since he is ineligible for the Sinovac vaccine for being a senior citizen.
Roque, meanwhile, hopes that FDA will soon grant an EUA to the Sinopharm’s COVID jab.
“‘Yung statement ni Presidente na i-withdraw na ang additional Sinopharm doses na donasyon ng Tsina ang maging daan para mapabilis ang pagproseso at pagkuha ng EUA para sa naturang bakuna,” said Roque./PN
