FDA to proceed with probe on PSG’s unauthorized COVID-19 vaccination

MANILA, Philippines — The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will proceed with its investigation on the self-inoculation of some members of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) using unregistered COVID-19 vaccines, its chief Director General Eric Domingo said Wednesday.

This, after President Rodrigo Duterte barred the PSG from disclosing information on their vaccination before Congress.

“Kung naalala ko ang sabi naman ni Presidente, ‘wag silang (PSG) mag-attend sa mga congressional hearing,” Domingo said in a televised briefing, when sought to comment on Duterte’s remarks.

(If I remember correctly, the President said the PSG should not attend congressional hearings.)

“Ang FDA po meron namang set na proseso kung paano po namin hinahandle at iniinvestigate ang mga complaints at mga reports na ganito. At itutuloy naman po namin ‘yun according to the process laid out by FDA,” he added.

(The FDA has its own set of processes on how we handle and investigate complaints and reports. We will continue the probe according to the processes laid out by FDA.)

No COVID-19 vaccine has secured an approval for emergency use by the Philippines’ FDA.

In a pre-recorded speech aired Monday, Duterte said PSG’s self-inoculation against COVID-19 was a “matter of self-preservation.”

Following Duterte’s pronouncements, the Armed Forces of the Philippines called off its own investigation on PSG’s use of unauthorized vaccines.

JE