Vaccination was still the “best defense” against COVID-19 variants, according to President Duterte.
On Monday, President Rodrigo Duterte said that vaccination was still the “best defense” against new variants of coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
With the new COVID-19 variants threatening to derail global recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, the President had appealed anew to the public to get inoculated as soon as possible.
According to President Duterte, he welcomed the fact that over 3 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 so far, and encouraged others to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as well.
“Health authorities around the world have noticed that the global pandemic recovery is at risk with the rise of new COVID-19 variants. The emergence of new COVID-19 variants like Delta and Lambda are truly cause of concern and the government is closely monitoring our borders for these strains to prevent local transmission. Having said that, our best defense is still to be vaccinated as soon as possible,” President Duterte said during his weekly address to the nation.
President Duterte’s appeal came shortly after getting fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as he received his second dose of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine before his meeting with selected members of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).
READ ALSO: President Duterte Now Fully Vaccinated vs COVID-19
The President also welcomed that more COVID-19 vaccines have arrived in the Philippines, citing the recent delivery of 1 million AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines donated by the Japanese government as well as more than 2 million doses given by the World Health Organization-led COVAX facility.
Earlier, President Duterte thanked Japan for the latest donation of COVID-19 vaccines, citing the deep friendship between Japan and the Philippines. President Duterte was also grateful for COVID-19 vaccines distributed by COVAX facility to ensure equitable access to the life-saving vaccine.
With the arrival of more COVID-19 vaccines and the threat posed by new COVID-19 variants, President Duterte renewed his appeal to the public to get inoculated and to continue to follow health regulations.
“The life you’ll be saving is not only your own but that of your loved ones and the people around you. I also appeal to our countrymen to continue observing health protocols so that we can prevent and avoid the spread of COVID-19,” President Duterte said.
For more news and updates, you may feel free to visit this site more often. You may also visit Newspapers.ph via our official Facebook page and YouTube channel.
