President Duterte got his Sinopharm booster as advised by his personal physician, according to Malacañang.
MALACAÑANG — The Palace said on Tuesday that President Rodrigo Duterte got his Sinopharm booster as advised by his personal physician.
Cabinet Secretary and acting Presidential Spokesperson Karlo Nograles said that the President has received a booster dose of Sinopharm vaccine as advised by his doctor.
Nograles was asked during the Presidential press briefing why the President was given a Sinopharm booster dose despite the lack of studies.
“That’s the advice of the doctor. So, it’s between him and the doctor,” Nograles explained. “Whereas, kung ano ‘yung booster for Sinopharm, again tulad ng sinabi ni [Health Undersecretary] Myrna Cabotaje, hinihingi pa po nila ang additional data from Sinopharm para makapagbigay po sila ng advice kung ano ‘yung maaaring booster shot for those who took Sinopharm.”
Nograles made the response after the Department of Health (DOH) recently said that their experts were still studying boosters for those who were inoculated with the Sinopharm vaccine.
READ ALSO: President Duterte Says He Received Booster Shot
Pangasinan Representative Rose Marie Arenas asked during the briefing before the House committee on health on the COVID-19 situation if there’s an advisory for those who had the Sinopharm vaccine as their 1st and 2nd dose.
According to DOH Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje, expert groups were still studying it since there’s “no data available” regarding the matter. She also said that even the country’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has no word yet on the matter.
The President, in his “Talk to the People” public briefing last January 6, said that he has received his Sinopharm booster shot, months after receiving his second dose of the same vaccine brand.
“Sinopharm ang binigay sa akin eh but including the booster,” the President said at that time.
On Tuesday, the DOH recorded 28,471 new coronavirus infections. Of these, 97% occurred within the recent 14 days (from January 5 to January 18).
This brought the country’s total coronavirus case count to 3,270,758.
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