Is China’s vaccine safe? Duterte says it is a modern and capable country

President Rodrigo Duterte (File photo by SIMEON CELI / Division of Presidential Photographers)

MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte has allayed fears about the possible use in the country of COVID-19 vaccines made by China, calling the Asian superpower a modern and capable country.

“Those of you ask me if [this vaccine from] China is safe – well, I can say that China is a modern country, and it has every means to make its country, whose integrity is fully protected by its achievements, ”said Duterte, speaking in part in Filipino, in his pre-recorded book . public speech on Wednesday.

“But if they made me an offer, I am waiting for China or Russia to call me, I would be happy to open my sleeve because I am sure of their vaccine.

At the beginning of his speech, Duterte said that the government already had the money to buy COVID-19 vaccines, but it was not enough. So I would keep looking for more sources of funds to ensure that the entire population could be vaccinated.

“This I can assure you: I have found some money. I already have the money for the vaccine, but I will look for more money because you know that now there are 113 million Filipinos, and for me, ideally, everyone should have the vaccine, without exception, ”Duterte said.

“I want my soldiers, including the other security forces in the country, to be part of the first batch [to be inoculated] because soldiers and police need to be prepared, healthy and free of COVID. They are really vital to the security of the state. […] Civilians can be the last, ”he added.

Recently, the World Health Organization revealed that COVID-19 vaccines could be available by the end of the year, contrary to the belief that the vaccine might not be available until mid-2021.

As of now, nine experimental vaccines are in the pipeline of the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility (COVAX), which is run by the World Health Organization. COVAX aims to distribute two billion doses of the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of 2021.

This is not the first time that Duterte has hinted to buy vaccines from China or Russia, and not from Western companies or governments.

Last September, Duterte criticized Western pharmaceutical companies for prioritizing profits over curing the coronavirus, as some companies requested an upfront payment, a kind of reservation fee, so that a country could dispose of vaccines.

This made Duterte lean towards China and Russia, especially since China, where the coronavirus originated, said it would give priority to the Philippines.

But the Duterte administration’s stance of waiting for other countries to develop a COVID-29 vaccine has been criticized by the opposition, especially by Vice President Leni Robredo. According to her, there is concrete evidence that other countries, as shown in the Lancet Commission Study COVID-19 last September, have already beaten the coronavirus while waiting for vaccines.

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