Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo may avail herself of the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine if she wants to, Malacanang said on Wednesday.
“Kung gusto po ni vice president, she is welcome to join also. At kung inyong matatandaan, sa kaniyang mga naging pahayag sa media ay magbuboluntaryo naman po siya ‘no bilang isang vice president,” Palace spokesman Harry Roque told reporters.
Sinovac was recently cleared for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
However, in granting the authorization, the FDA specified that Sinovac vaccines were not recommended for senior citizens and health workers.
“At pasok na pasok naman po si VP Leni. Hindi pa naman po siya senior,” Roque said.
FDA chief Eric Domingo earlier said interim data from the ongoing Phase 3 trials of Sinovac in India and Turkey showed that when the vaccine was used on clinically healthy members of the community aged 18 to 59, it had an efficacy rate of 65.3 to 91.2 percent.
However, the vaccines were found to have a lower efficacy rate—50.4 percent—when used on healthcare workers exposed to Covid-19.
Before Sinovac gained emergency use approval in the country, Roque had insisted that Robredo was not assured of priority access to Covid-19 vaccines.
Robredo, on the other hand, said she would follow the country’s priority list, but if she needs to get vaccinated in public to allay the public’s fears, she would do so.
The country has recorded 566,420 Covid-19 cases as of Feb. 24. John Ezekiel J. Hirro