According to THE STRAITS TIMES, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte received his first dose of Sinopharm's vaccine against Covid-19 on May 3 to encourage reluctant Filipinos to get inoculated and help stop the spread of the virus, his closest aide said.
Mr Duterte, 76, got inoculated to protect himself from Covid-19 and encourage the public to get vaccinated, Mr Christopher Go, a senator and his closest aide, said in a statement.
THE STRAITS TIMES mentions, six in 10 Filipinos are unwilling to be vaccinated because of safety concerns, according to Pulse Asia's survey of 2,400 respondents between Feb 22 and March 3. In a similar poll in November, only 47 per cent said they would refuse a vaccination.
The Philippines has recorded 1.06 million Covid-19 cases and 17,525 deaths, the second highest in South-east Asia, next to Indonesia. Among those who contracted and later recovered from Covid-19 are Mr Duterte's spokesman and defence minister.
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Sinopharm's emergency use application in the Philippines is still pending, but the country's food and drug regulator has approved the "compassionate use" of 10,000 Sinopharm doses for Mr Duterte's security detail.
THE STRAITS TIMES says, the Philippines has administered 1.9 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines, most of which were from China's Sinovac, since it started its immunisation drive on March 1.
It plans to vaccinate up to 70 millions of its 108 million population this year to achieve herd immunity and safely reopen the pandemic-battered economy.
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