Andronico Del Rosario
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III’s 2021 could not have gotten off to a rockier start, unless netizens’ suspicions are true and he is at least getting something out of batting for Sinovac.
Social media recently exploded when Duque announced that the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines were on their way to the country this February.
The catch: it was the less-than-stellar and fairly expensive Sinovac.
Duque revealed on Sunday, January 10, that he and the IATF have secured 25 million doses of the Chinese vaccine, with 50,000 doses scheduled to arrive by February and 950,000 more to arrive by March.
Between 2 and 3 million doses will continue arriving every month until the end of 2021.
Duque allayed public concerns on the efficacy—or lack thereof—of Sinovac and told the public to “trust the screening process” being done by the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Science and Technology.
“Mayroon tayong nakatakdang proseso, at dapat sundin ‘yan, respetuhin ang DOST (at) ang kanilang vaccine panel. Sila po ang sumusuri ng lahat ng scientific evidence para patunayan na itong mga bakuna ay ligtas, may (sic) dekalidad at epektibo, at kaya na implement, ipatupad,” Duque said when asked about his thoughts on Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine.
This statement had netizens asking: is Duque acting as our health secretary or is he the official medical representative for Sinovac?
https://twitter.com/jerrygracio/status/1348824685618761728
pisti saw a hirit sa Facebook na basin daw medrep si Duque sa sinovac and I'm
— Bea Cupin (@beacupin) January 11, 2021
Human rights advocate Francis Baraan IV would even call out Duque in his post, asking if he is earning anything from continuously batting for the Chinese vaccine.
Is Duque the Filipino endorser of Sinovac dahil meron siyang Kickvac?
— Francis Baraan IV (@MrFrankBaraan) January 11, 2021
Writer Tonyo Cruz even went on Twitter to bring in other officials for the “Sinovac MedRep of the Year” award…
Sino ang magwawagi bilang SINOVAC MEDREP OF THE YEAR???
Rodrigo Duterte
Francisco Duque III
Harry Roque
Carlito Galvez JR. pic.twitter.com/mvoW8kJQHv— Tonyo Cruz (@tonyocruz) January 12, 2021
… with Duque “leading the way”.
LOOKd As of January 12, Francisco Duque III is the leading candidate for MEDREP OF YEAR, with 25 million doses Sinovac vaccine ordered. More may follow.
Award sponsored by Sinovac, Office of the President, and the Chinese embassy pic.twitter.com/5gMqV9yLBK
— Tonyo Cruz (@tonyocruz) January 12, 2021
Duque and the Duterte administration would answer their critics nearly a month ago, though, saying the government isn’t favoring Sinovac over other vaccines.
“The reason we are purchasing [CoronaVac] is we cannot immediately get Pfizer, AstraZeneca or Moderna,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque explained during a press briefing in mid-December 2020.
Bawal ang choosy? Duque says, “do not worry”
Duque again allay fears of using CoronaVac, Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine, when he responded to questions from senators.
In a report from the Manila Bulletin, Duque said the government cannot hastily inoculate Filipinos with any vaccine, saying vaccines have “certain indications.”
“(Kung) nakalagay doon ‘o, hindi ito pwede beyond 18 years old’, hindi po namin ipipilit doon,” Duque said during a Senate inquiry on the government’s vaccination plan.
Duque also assured senators that the government is not placing all of its eggs in the CoronaVac basket, saying they will diversify their vaccine portfolio to “complement depending on the sectors or the prioritized group to be inoculated”.
He adds that this will also make up for individual deficiencies of each of the COVID-19 vaccines.
Outside of acquiring 25 million doses of CoronaVac, the Philippine government has also secured 30 million doses of India’s Covovax, scheduled to arrive by the third quarter of 2021 according to this article from Business Mirror.
Meanwhile, local government units and private companies are placing their bets on the IATF’s ability to procure the sought-after vaccine from AstraZeneca, deemed one of the more effective and affordable COVID-19 vaccines available today.
