No Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine for DOH chief Duque

Health Sec. Francisco Duque III. (Voltaire F. Domingo/Senate PRIB)

MANILA, Philippines — Health Secretary Francisco Duque III will not be inoculated with the CoronaVac Covid-19 vaccine developed by China’s  Sinovac, according to the Department of Health (DOH).

 “FTD (Francisco T. Duque) will not be vaccinated with SINOVAC as EUA (emergency use authorization) provisions exclude 60 and above. He also underscores that we will follow the prioritization framework, and will ensure that limited doses will go to the HCWs (healthcare workers) first,” the DOH told reporters in a Viber message on Sunday night.

Duque, 64, earlier said he is willing to receive the CoronaVac, but added that the age restriction recommended by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the vaccines from the Chinese firm may be an issue. 

 On Sunday, Senator Christopher “Bong” Go also said that Duque and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. will be vaccinated on Monday morning with the Covid-19 vaccine from Sinovac. 

 FDA Director-General Eric Domingo earlier said that the CoronaVac, despite getting a local EUA, should only be administered to clinically healthy individuals aged 18 to 59 years old, as the vaccine showed higher efficacy rates in this age group. 

He said that the vaccine showed a higher efficacy rate of 65.3 percent among clinically healthy people within this age bracket based on clinical trials in Indonesia, and 91.2 percent based on clinical trials in Turkey. 

 The donated 600,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine from China arrived in the Philippines on Sunday, with the doses transported to the Philippine General Hospital, Lung Center of the Philippines, Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center and Sanitarium (Tala), Veterans Memorial Medical Center, Philippine National Police General Hospital in Camp Crame, and Victoriano Luna Medical Center early Monday morning.

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