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Duterte wants to go last in vaccine queue, but Palace argues he can still go first

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1 week agoon

President Rodrigo Duterte has declared that he is willing to be among the last Filipinos to receive Covid-19 vaccines, but Malacañang on Thursday said the Philippine leader can still be the first to get inoculated if only to boost public confidence.
Duterte, in his meeting with members of the pandemic task force Wednesday night, said he and his Cabinet members should go last in the vaccine queue, emphasizing that medical workers should be prioritized in the state’s immunization program.
“Our priority is the uniformed personnel, soldiers along with other priority sectors. The poor should go first. If there are million vaccine shots, then receive it simultaneously,” he said.
“If there will be left for us, (Senator) Bong (Go,) (Secretary Delfin) Lorenzana, if there will be doses left for us, then it will be for us,” Duterte added.
The chief executive said this despite his previous pronouncements that he wants to be the first Filipino to be inoculated in public to allay concerns over Covid-19 vaccine safety.
But his spokesperson Harry Roque said the matter is still uncertain.
The Palace official noted that it is “not impossible” for President Duterte to be the first to get vaccinated against Covid-19 if the move will boost public confidence on serums against the dreaded disease.
“He said that last night because his message is the indigents, the poor should be first so they can get protected,” Roque said.
“He said that last night because his message is the indigents, the poor should be first so they can get protected,” he added.
Meanwhile, Duterte said teachers, social workers and other government workers, including those involved in agriculture, food, and tourism should also be among the priority sectors for vaccination — apart from health workers.
The President added there will be no discrimination in the administering of the vaccines.
“It’s an obligation imposed upon us governments to take care of our citizens,” he said.
A recent Pulse Asia survey found that nearly half of 47 percent of 2,400 Filipino respondents will reject Covid-19 vaccine even if it becomes available, as the majority of them are concerned about its safety. Meanwhile, 32 percent said they would get vaccinated and 21 percent were undecided.
The survey showed that concern about the safety of the vaccines is the primary reason for those who will reject it. Such sentiment was highest in Metro Manila.
Health experts have earlier noted that the Dengvaxia scare in 2017 contributed to immunization hesitancy in the Philippines. In 2017, the government stopped its nationwide dengue vaccination program and pulled Dengvaxia off the market after drugmaker Sanofi disclosed that those without prior infection are at risk of having “severe disease” if immunized with their vaccine.
The government is eyeing to roll out its large-scale vaccination program this year against COVID-19. Among the priority groups for inoculation were over 1.7 million health workers, 3.7 million indigent senior citizens, over 5.6 million remaining senior citizens, nearly 13 million poorest citizens, and 500,000 uniformed personnel.

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