MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Vicente Sotto III sees nothing wrong in some members of the military being inoculated with unapproved COVID-19 vaccines saying that there is no law prohibiting an individual from receiving an unauthorized vaccine.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong about that. There is no law that says you cannot take any medicine or vaccine that FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has not approved,” Sotto said in a message to reporters when sought for comment.
“Last [I] recall, there is even no law vs suicide. So what’s the fuss? I don’t think [the government] paid for those vaccines they used. I’m sure they were given and administered for free,” he added.
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In his televised address over the weekend, President Rodrigo Duterte disclosed that many people in the Philippines have already received the COVID-19 vaccine developed by China’s Sinopharm, even as regulators have yet to approve the use of any vaccine.
On Monday, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año confirmed that some members of the Cabinet, as well as the Presidential Security Group (PSG), have been inoculated with a vaccine against COVID-19.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) also issued a confirmation that members of the PSG were the first among military personnel to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
“As the unit primarily tasked to protect and secure the highest official of the land, the PSG will have to ensure that the President is safe from all threats—including COVID-19,” AFP spokesperson Maj. Gen. Edgar Arevalo said in a statement.
The FDA has yet to grant an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to a candidate COVID-19 vaccine. American drugmaker Pfizer has so far been the only firm to have applied for a EUA in the Philippines.
FDA Director-General Eric Domingo, in a television interview, 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.