MANILA – President Rodrigo R. Duterte stated late Tuesday night that if the Covid-19 vaccines are not effective, there would have been a lot more fatalities.
This, as he urged the people not to be picky about the Covid-19 vaccine brands they receive, particularly those produced by Chinese manufacturers.
“Do you know if these vaccines that we have been giving to the population are not really effective and right marami nang patay ngayon (there are many deaths now),” he said in a prerecorded Talk to the People.
Duterte reminded the public once again to be vaccinated, stressing that population protection is the only way to address the current health crisis.
“Huwag kayong mamili kasi talagang ito namang lahat bakuna, okay ‘to (Don’t be choosy because all the vaccines are okay),” he added.
He also expressed gratitude to the governments of Japan and the United States of America for donating approximately 2 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to strengthen the country’s supply.
“We thank the Japanese government for their donation of close to 2 million doses of life-saving vaccines. Indeed, Japan is a friend closer than a brother ready to help in times of need,” he said.
He regarded the Covid-19 vaccine deliveries by the US as proof of “the strength of US-Philippine alliance”.
“Our thanks go also to the United States for providing more than 2 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines delivered through the facility called COVAX. This is the seventh shipment of vaccines from the United States totaling approximately 18 million doses of vaccines,” he added.
Meanwhile, Duterte expressed optimism that the Covid-19 vaccine donations will help the Philippines achieve its objective of having a “better Christmas”.
The Philippines has acquired more than 91.5 million Covid-19 vaccine doses as of October 18. This is likely to reach 104 million by the end of October.
In addition, the government has administered around 53 million Covid-19 vaccines, with 32 percent of the country’s adult population already fully immunized.
