President Rodrigo Roa Duterte strikes his signature pose with newly-appointed Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año following the oath-taking ceremony at the Malago Clubhouse in Malacañang Park on November 5, 2018. KING RODRIGUEZ/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO
President Rodrigo Duterte, who earlier volunteered to be the country’s “guinea pig” to dispel the public’s fears over Covid-19 vaccines, has yet to be vaccinated, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said on Monday.
Meanwhile, Año said some members of Duterte’s Cabinet and security personnel had already received anti-Covid shots.
“Si presidente mismo nagsasabi sa amin na gusto niya pero ang advice ng doktor niya ay huwag. Talagang hindi pa siya nagpapabakuna, ayaw ng mga doktor niya,” Año said in a radio interview.
In August, Duterte said he was willing to be the first Filipino to be injected with Covid-19 vaccines from Russia, which he said then could be distributed by September this year.
“Pagdating ng bakuna, in public, para walang satsat diyan, magpa-injection ako. Ako ‘yung unang pag-experimentuhan,” he said.
“Kaya ako, para ipakita ko sa kanila na nagtiwala ako at hindi sila nagkamali mag-offer… ako ang unang magpabakuna. Kung puwede sa akin, puwede sa lahat,” he added.
As of Dec. 28, the Food and Drug Administration has yet to issue an emergency use authorization to any Covid-19 vaccine.
However, Palace spokesman Harry Roque said it would not be a crime to receive unregistered Covid-19 vaccines, and only distribution and selling were prohibited. John Ezekiel J. Hirro