‘Anomalous!’: Some senators slam ‘advance COVID vaccination’ of soldiers, officials

Sen. Leila de Lima. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Detained Senator Leila de Lima on Monday slammed as “anomalous” the vaccination of some government officials and military personnel against COVID-19, a piece of information recently disclosed by President Rodrigo Duterte.

“How did it happen that some soldiers, and perhaps select civilians, have already gotten an advance vaccination with a China-made vaccine?” Senator Leila de Lima said over Twitter.

“Did any of the relevant authorities, i.e., DOH (Department of Health), FDA (Food and Drug Administration), DOST (Department of Science and Technology) and/or IATF (Inter-agency Task Force), give its official go-signal for that? And why a belated disclosure?” she added. “Anomalous!”

How did it happen that some soldiers, and perhaps select civilians, have already gotten an advance vaccination with a China-made vaccine? Did any of the relevant authorities, i.e., DOH, FDA, DOST and/or IATF, give its official go-signal for that? And why a belated disclosure? pic.twitter.com/hAMISnXN6P

— Leila de Lima (@AttyLeiladeLima) December 28, 2020

Meanwhile, Senator Francis Pangilinan questioned why some military men and government officials were able to be inoculated first before medical frontliners or senior citizens.

“Akala ko ba mga medical frontliners at yung mga seniors at mas nasa peligrong kalagayan ng kalusugan ang uunahin?” Pangilinan said in a message to reporters.

(I thought medical frontliners, seniors, and those who are at risk should be the first ones to be vaccinated?)

This, according to the senator, is a reflection of the government’s unclear vaccination roll out.

“Lumalabas na nagka-kanya kanya ang mga nasa administrasyon sa pagbabakuna at naguunahan pa bago pa man maaprubahan ng FDA ang paggamit ng mga bakuna na ito sa bansa. Inunahan na ba ng Malakanyang ang FDA sa pagtiyak na ligtas nga ba ang mga bakuna na ito?” he said.

(It appears that administration officials are getting vaccines on their own and are even bypassing the FDA approval. Is Malacañang trying to get ahead of the FDA?)

“Palakasan na ba at kung sino ang may malakas na kapit sa mga nakaupo ang basehan ng vaccination programa ng gobyerno?” he added.

For Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, the inoculation of some military men using an unregistered COVID-19 vaccine will not help in building the confidence of the public.

“Public confidence is critical to the successful inoculation of our people. Confidence is developed by adhering to a science-based process and the opinion of our vaccine expert panel,” Drilon said in a separate message.

“The inoculation using vaccines not approved by our FDA will not contribute to the need to develop public confidence that the government program will succeed,” he added.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III, however, saw nothing wrong with the vaccination among some soldiers, noting that there is no law prohibiting them from receiving an unauthorized vaccine.

In his televised address over the weekend, Duterte said that many Filipinos have already received the COVID-19 vaccine of China’s Sinopharm, even as regulators have yet to approve any vaccine for local use.

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte went back to Manila a day after Christmas to meet selected members of his Cabinet along with infectious disease experts. ALFRED FRIAS/ PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

On Monday, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año confirmed that some members of the Cabinet, as well as the Presidential Security Group and the military, have been inoculated against COVID-19.

Año did not say which COVID-19 vaccine brand was used but added that it was administered under an emergency use authorization (EUA).

The FDA, however, has yet to grant an EUA to a candidate COVID-19 vaccine.

American drugmaker Pfizer is so far the only firm to have applied for a EUA in the Philippines.

FDA director-general Eric Domingo, in a television interview, meanwhile confirmed that the agency has been receiving reports of Filipinos being administered with a COVID-19 vaccine from China.

Domingo said it would be a “personal choice” if an individual chooses to be inoculated with an unregistered vaccine.

“There’s nothing we can do about it, it’s a personal choice. But it is illegal to import an unregistered drug, to distribute it, and for a doctor or a medical practitioner or any health personnel to administer unlicensed drugs in the country,” he said.

He vowed that the agency will go after distributors of “illegal and unregistered” COVID-19 vaccines. 

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), through its spokesperson, said there is no COVID-19 vaccination drive sanctioned by the military but confirmed that members of the PSG were the first among military personnel to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

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