MANILA (Reuters) – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte defends his government’s decision to buy Chinese-made coronavirus vaccines, saying it’s just as good as the shots fired by Americans and Europeans.
“The Chinese do not have brains,” Duterte said in a television speech late last night. “The Chinese are clear. They will not dare to produce vaccines if it is not safe, secure and safe.”
Duterte made the remarks because questions were asked about the level of protection that Sinovac Biotech’s experimental COVID-19 vaccine could provide, after researchers in Brazil released late-stage clinical data showing efficacy lower than initially announced. .
At least one Philippine senator, Francis Pangilinan, has called on the government to cancel the purchase of the Sinovac vaccine.
Manila has locked up 25 million doses of Sinovac vaccine, with the first 50,000 expected to arrive in February.
Duterte, who pursued warmer ties with Beijing, had earlier said he preferred his country to obtain its COVID-19 vaccines from China or Russia.
Carlito Galvez, a former general responsible for obtaining vaccinations, said the government had also confirmed the offerings with Novavax, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and the Russian Gamaleya Institute for a total of 137 million doses.
That is in addition to the 40 million doses that the Philippines will receive in the first quarter through the World Health Organization’s COVAX facility, Galvez said.
The Philippines is one of the most common cases of coronavirus in Asia, but peers are striving to secure vaccines, with which they hope to vaccinate 70 million people, or two-thirds of the population, this year.
A poll on Thursday showed that less than a third of Filipinos are willing to be vaccinated against the coronavirus because many have expressed concerns about safety. Philippine regulators have yet to approve any COVID-19 vaccines.
(Reporting by Karen Lema; Editing by Peter Graff)