Department of Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said Monday that some Cabinet members and personnel from the Presidential Security Group (PSG) were already injected with the vaccine against COVID-19 even without the approval of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yet.
“Alam mo kasi that is what you call privacy, kumbaga confidential ‘yun eh. You cannot divulge because I might be violating his privacy, but I know some from the Cabinet and from the Presidential Security Group,” Año said in a radio interview.
Año explained that the vaccines could already be used especially by health workers and other frontliners because of the emergency use authorization (EUA).
He noted that the vaccines can be used for the health workers and frontliners even if it has not been formally approved by the FDA.
But, Año said that President Duterte has not been injected with the COVID-19 vaccine.
The DILG chief added that the President never ordered the PSG personnel or military men to be injected with the vaccine, stressing that it was the personal choice of the said individuals.
So far, only the Pfizer-BioNTech has applied for an emergency use authorization (EUA) for its vaccine as disclosed by presidential spokesman Harry Roque over the weekend.
In an interview over CNN, FDA director-general Eric Domingo said that it was a “personal choice” if people chose to be injected with an unregistered vaccine.
“There’s nothing we can do about it, it’s a personal choice. But it is illegal to import an unregistered drug, to distribute it, and for a doctor or a medical practitioner or any health personnel to administer unlicensed drugs in the country,” Domingo said. (Chito A. Chavez)
