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Duterte: Talk of COVID vaccine booster shots ‘a selfish act’, amid uneven distribution of doses

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ABS-CBN News

<p>President Rodrigo Duterte brought up the unequal global distribution of COVID-19 vaccine doses during the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, saying poor nations have suffered because of what he called &quot;a man-made drought of vaccines.&quot;</p><p>Duterte also assailed any discussion about booster shots in advanced economies and called it &quot;a selfish act&quot;, as many countries struggled to acquire doses to even fully immunize their population.</p><p>&quot;Rich countries hoard life-saving vaccine, while poor nations wait for trickles,&quot; the President said.</p><p>&quot;The now talk of booster shots while developing countries consider half doses just to get by — this is shocking beyond belief and must be condemned for what it is, a selfish act that can neither be justified rationally or morally.&quot;</p><p>Duterte also &quot;strongly urged privileged partners&quot; in the international community to back the COVAX vaccine-sharing facility.</p><p>&quot;The plain fact is this pandemic will not end unless the virus is defeated everywhere,&quot; he said.</p><p>The Philippines is fighting one of Asia&#x27;s worst coronavirus outbreaks, with infections crossing 2.4 million on Tuesday and overall deaths topped 37,000.</p><p>Government aims to inoculate 70 percent of the country&#x27;s 109 people before the year ends to achieve herd immunity and safely reopen the economy. At least 18.5 million people have been fully vaccinated so far. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/multimedia/infographic/03/23/21/philippines-covid-19-vaccine-tracker">Philippines: COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker</a></li></ul><p>China&#x27;s Sinovac vaccine makes up about half of around 64.9 million COVID-19 shots that the Philippines has received so far. </p><p>The total includes 15.8 million jabs from COVAX, which pledged to cover <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/09/21/who-optimistic-covax-vaccines-can-cover-20-of-philippine-population-this-year">20 percent</a> of Filipinos, according to a Reuters tally. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/17/21/us-shipping-25m-more-covid-19-vaccine-doses-to-philippines">US shipping 2.5M more COVID-19 vaccine doses to Philippines</a></li></ul><p>Philippine authorities have yet to approve the use of booster shots, following <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/15/21/booster-shots-sought-for-health-workers">calls</a> for vaccine top-ups for health workers. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/04/21/when-should-ph-start-giving-covid-19-booster-jabs">When should PH start giving COVID-19 booster jabs?</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/02/21/galvez-open-to-covid-booster-shots-for-health-workers">Galvez open to COVID booster shots for health workers</a></li></ul><p>The World Health Organization earlier this month urged countries to &quot;<a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/01/21/who-urges-countries-to-hold-back-on-covid-booster-shots">hold back</a>&quot; on booster shots as experts have yet to see &quot;any evidence&quot; that an additional vaccine dose could prevent breakthrough infections. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/14/21/ntfs-galvez-slams-vaccine-hoppers-getting-boosters">NTF&#x27;s Galvez slams &#x27;vaccine hoppers&#x27; getting boosters</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/12/21/ronaldo-zamora-vaccinated-4-times-booster-shot-covid19">Philippine lawmaker says he received 4 shots of COVID-19 vaccines</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO: </strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Lyh3BesQFYI?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

Duterte brought up the unequal global distribution of COVID vaccines during the UN General Assembly, saying poor nations have suffered because of it.