Are you afraid of the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine purchased by the national government?
Not President Duterte.
Malacañang on Monday said President Duterte is prepared to take the first coronavirus shot if only to boost public confidence in the government’s immunization drive.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the President would not hesitate to be first in line for the vaccination to help allay any concern about the safety and efficacy of the vaccines purchased by the government.
The government intends to give free inoculations initially to medical frontliners, senior citizens, poor and vulnerable citizens, and uniformed personnel once the vaccines are given a green light by local drug regulators.
Of the millions of vaccine doses secured by the government, the first batch of the medicines will arrive in the country in February.
A recent survey however showed that many Filipinos refused to be vaccinated due to safety concerns.
“Kung sa tingin niya ay talagang natatakot ang mga tao sa bakuna, eh hindi naman po siya mag-a-atubili na mauna. Basta ang sa kanya, interes ng taumbayan bago interes ng mga namumuno,” Roque said over “Unang Hirit” program Monday.
“Huwag po kayong mag-alala, kung importante po iyan talaga para magkaroon ng kumpiyansa ang taumbayan, iniisip ko naman po hindi imposible iyan dahil minsan na ngang sinabi po iyan ng ating Presidente, ” he added.
He explained that when the President recently offered to be among the last to be vaccinated, he merely tried to highlight that the poor and vulnerable sector will be the first to get inoculated against the coronavirus.
