Expect ‘good results’ in gov’t Covid-19 response by end of 2021 – Duterte

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte sounded optimistic in his pre-recorded Monday night briefing that the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic could achieve “good results” by the end of the year.

“We did our assignment. We are waiting for the vaccines to arrive and to immediately implement the required mandate — and that is to immunize everybody. We will do it as fast as the vaccines come in,” Duterte said, speaking partly in Filipino.

“As fast as we receive them, we distribute them, but you must have the facility, as I said, to ensure that the integrity, the effectiveness of the vaccine would not be ruined,” he added. “But eventually, we will solve all the problems connected with this. We will survive. And by the end of the year, it appears that – it may not be the best but our efforts will have good results.”

The Philippines is expecting to receive vaccines developed by US drugmaker Pfizer-BioNTech and British company AstraZeneca from the World Health Organization-led COVAX facility this month.

Although it could not specify a date yet for the arrival of vaccines, Malacañang said the government was ready to begin the vaccination program.

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