The Philippine Food and Drug Administration warned against the use of unauthorized vaccines, as the military said members of President Rodrigo Duterte’s security detail have already been vaccinated.
Philippine regulators have not approved a single Covid-19 vaccine for use in the country, FDA Director General Eric Domingo said in an interview with CNN Philippines on Monday. Importing, administering, or distributing vaccines without permission is illegal, Domingo said, warning that unauthorized shots could be counterfeit, tainted, or cause side effects.
Soldiers on Duterte’s security team have already been vaccinated, Philippines armed forces said in a statement on Monday. The move is “a bold move” to protect the president, he said, without specifying which vaccines were used and how they were obtained.
Duterte also said last weekend that many Filipinos, including soldiers, have already received the vaccine Sinopharm Group Co.
The government is still in talks with vaccine manufacturers because it wants to vaccinate about a quarter of the population next year. It expects to first ship approximately 30 million doses by May 2021, including 2.6 million doses purchased by private companies from AstraZeneca Plc.
READ: Southeast Asia Covid-19 Vaccine Tracker: Who Gets What, When
– With the help of Ditas B Lopez