Philippines to probe unauthorized vaccination of soldiers, Chinese workers: Report

Filipino authorities would investigate how unauthorized COVID-19 vaccines were given to President Rodrigo Duterte’s security team and reportedly to thousands of Chinese workers, Philippines’ health secretary said.  Speaking at a televised briefing, Francisco Duque stated that country’s Food and Drug Administration along with government investigators and customs officials were probing in the illegal entry and use of unregistered vaccines. With more and more vaccine candidates getting approval, illegal inoculation has become a juggernaut issue in several developed nations.

No vaccine candidate approved

The issue came into light last week after the country’s military confirmed that few of soldier working in the President’s security team had already received vaccine jabs. In addendum, it was reported that over 100,000 Chinese nationals working in the country had also been inoculated as early as November 2020. As of now, the Philippines, with over 478,761 cases and 9,263 fatalities of coronavirus,  has not approved any vaccine candidate. According to reports, the country is aiming to secure at least 80 million vaccines from pharmaceuticals including AstraZeneca Plc., Novavax Inc. and Pfizer Inc., with deals expected this month and shipments by the second quarter.

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Earlier this year, President of Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, lauded Russia for being the world’s first country to have found the vaccine and offered himself to be injected with it. Harry Roque Spokesman for the President reportedly said that if things go as planned, Duterte would be inoculated as early as May next year. His remarks come just a day after Filipino scientists met with the representatives of the Russian state research facility, Gamaleya, to secure the "complete dossier" on Russia’s coronavirus vaccine.

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Elaborating further, Health Undersecretary Rosario Vergeire said in a statement that the teams would hold a discussion on clinical trials and research that went into the development of the COVID-19 vaccine "Sputnik V". Further, she stated that it would be made clear if the international concerns about “not enough scientific evidence” about Russia’s vaccine holds true, reports confirmed.