Screenshot from PTV4
MANILA, Philippines — Health Secretary Francisco Duque III was vaccinated against COVID-19 on Friday.
Duque was vaccinated with CoronaVac, the COVID-19 vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech, the Department of Health (DOH) told reporters in a Viber message.
The DOH said Duque received his first jab “after waiting for his turn to get vaccinated” as part of the A2 priority group for senior citizens.
“As I receive my dose of the COVID-19 vaccine today, I invite everyone to do the same, and choose to be protected. Let us all take part in protecting public health, and let us be in unison in spreading one message: that vaccines are safe, and vaccines are effective,” Duque said in a statement.
According to DOH, Duque was also vaccinated “to further assure vaccine safety and reiterate the importance of vaccines in the fight against the pandemic.”
The 64-year-old Health Secretary earlier said he is willing to be inoculated with CoronaVac but cited age restrictions as previous guidelines of the Food and Drug Administration allowed the use of the vaccine only for clinically healthy individuals aged 18 to 59.
The DOH and the FDA, however, later allowed the use of CoronaVac on senior citizens following the recommendation of the country’s vaccine experts panel to use the vaccine on the elderly.