After widespread criticism, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte asked the Chinese embassy to withdraw 1,000 donated Sinopharm vaccines, saying he had already received the vaccine and urged others not to follow his example because it was “very dangerous.
The BBC reported on May 6 that Duterte said the Chinese Communist Party should only send Sinovac vaccines to the Philippines in the future, which have been approved by the Philippine authorities, while Sinopharm vaccines have not yet been approved.
Duterte said he was only given the Chinese vaccine under a “Compassionate Use Clause (commonly referred to as a controversial drug supply)”.
According to local media, Duterte told the public, “Don’t follow my example” and that “it’s dangerous because this (vaccine) is not researched and may not be good for your body. Let me be the only person who receives the injection.”
Duterte said that given that the national vaccine has not been approved and could cause multiple side effects, “let’s throw them out so there’s no problem.” He also accepted criticism that there are dangers in receiving unapproved vaccines, saying, “We’re sorry.”
The Philippines has one of the worst outbreaks of the Covid virus in Southeast Asia, with a total of more than 1 million infections and nearly 18,000 deaths, but more than half of Filipinos are reluctant to get the Covid vaccine because of concerns about its safety.
Last year, all of the president’s security personnel were vaccinated with the Chinese vaccine before the country received any Covid vaccine, which was widely criticized.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is currently testing China’s Covid (Sinovac) vaccine and Sinopharm vaccine, and the results of the assessment will be released this week.
The early-revealed documents cited by Reuters show that the WHO’s Strategic Advisory Panel concluded that the Kexing vaccine was protective in adults under 60 years of age, but lacked data on the risk of serious side effects the vaccine could produce. And the panel had “very low confidence” in the Sinopharm vaccine because of its potential for serious side effects in some patients.
Recent Comments