Philippine President Duterte to get COVID-19 vaccine shot in public
In this Sept. 28, 2020, file photo provided by the Malacanang Presidential Photographers Division, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte talks with members of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Malacanang presidential palace in Manila. AP
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will receive his anti-Covid-19 injection in public in a bid to allay concerns among Filipinos about the safety of the vaccine, his spokesman said on Monday.
It was earlier announced that Duterte did not want to be inoculated in public because he had planned to get the shot in his buttocks.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said that Duterte had changed his mind about having it in public - but Roque did not confirm that Duterte would have the injection in his upper arm as has been usual practice with the coronavirus vaccines.
“The president has said that he will now have himself vaccinated publicly,” Roque said. “He only has to announce when it will be done.”
The Philippines has yet to receive any supply of Covid vaccines, but has been preparing to start vaccination as soon as the shots arrive in the country.
The government is aiming to vaccinate 50 million to 70 million Filipinos for free this year.
But a nationwide survey showed that 47 per cent of Filipinos refused to be inoculated with the Covid-19 vaccine, mainly due to concerns over its safety. Five per cent feel that a vaccine is not needed to combat Covid-19, the poll added.
In the capital region of Metro Manila alone, only 25 per cent of respondents are willing to get shots, while 28 per cent said they will not get the vaccine, the survey showed. Forty-seven per cent were undecided.
Roque said the government was encouraging high-ranking officials to get vaccinated to allay public concern over the shots.
“That is a policy we will now pursue,” he said. “We will do this to boost public confidence on vaccination.”
The Philippines' Covid-19 caseload totalled 550,860?on Monday, with the Department of Health reporting 1,685?additional coronavirus infections. The death toll was at 11,517, it added. (DPA)