The Philippines is facing uncertainty on how soon it could get sufficient vaccines to protect Filipinos against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
(KING RODRIGUEZ / PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO)
No less than President Duterte admitted that he has no idea yet when the country can get more vaccines given the world's scarce supply of the preventive drug.
The President said the country has so far secured vaccine supplies from China but unfortunately, the arriving stocks are "barely enough" to inoculate the country's health workers.
"Wala pa tayong nakuha except for noong nakuha natin sa China. Now you know exactly what I mean kung sabihin ko noong binigay sa atin ng China. Kindly read my lips. So mayroong tayong nakuha at may dadating pakaunti-kaunti (we have secured some supplies and will arrive in small batches),” Duterte said in a televised address Thursday, April 16, his second within the week.
"Now, when will we have that stocks sufficient to vaccinate the people? I really do not know. Nobody knows," he said.
The President maintained that the country's situation was not unique, saying other nations were also having difficulty securing vaccine supplies. Duterte previously claimed that rich countries have managed to secure most of the world's supply of vaccines, leaving poor nations like the Philippines further behind.
"It’s really that the Philippines is not an exception. We are not the favored few under this planet Earth," Duterte said.
"Ang Pilipinas kagaya ng mga Brazil and others pare-pareho ang problema (The Philippines is like Brazil and others enduring the same problem). And in America, surprise of a --- the surprises of our times, hindi natin matantiya kung ano talaga (it also cannot gauge when it can) because until now the industrialized countries, those who have, are not ready really to let go of their stocks of vaccine," he added.
Duterte also said the Philippines and the rest of the world were facing "turmoil" as the pandemic remained "virulent" and "ready to take the civilization of mankind by its nose leading us all to perdition."
He noted that Brazil and other densely populated countries were "scared of the third wave" of coronavirus infections. "If there’s a reinfection, there is no guarantee that anybody would ever be safe with or without the vaccines," he warned.
As of April 15, the Philippines has recorded 904,285 cases of coronavirus overall, including 183,527 active infections. The death toll has reached 15,594.
The country has so far received over 3 million doses of vaccines, including 1.5 million Sinovac vaccines procured by the government. These state-bought vaccines augmented the initial 1 million Sinovac shots donated by China and another 525,600 AstraZeneca doses from World Health Organization's COVAX Facility
So far, the government has administered over 1.2 million doses of vaccines to Filipinos under its immunization drive.
The government aims to inoculate 70 million adult Filipinos to attain herd immunity this year in a bid to jumpstart the sluggish economy. The local economy suffered its worst contraction following the tight movement restrictions first imposed in March last year.