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Duterte guards' inoculation 'bad precedent' in PH's vaccination program: health expert

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/news/12/29/20190626-duterte-psg-mnib-33.jpg"/><figcaption>President Rodrigo Duterte is welcomed by Presidential Security Group (PSG) Commander Brig. Gen. Jose Niembra during the 122nd PSG anniversary at the PSG Compound on June 26, 2019. Robinson Niñal, Presidential Photo/File</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA - The inoculation of President Rodrigo Duterte&#x27;s security men sans a regulatory approval could set a bad precedent in the government&#x27;s massive vaccination program next year, a health expert said Wednesday. &quot;First, it&#x27;s a violation of FDA (Food and Drug Administration) rules in terms of trying to bring in unregistered products even as donation,&quot; said Dr. Tony Leachon, former adviser of the government&#x27;s pandemic task force.&quot;Number 2, it could actually sabotage the national vaccination program considering there&#x27;s a grand plan for this one,&quot; he told ANC&#x27;s &quot;Matters of Fact.&quot; Leachon, among those vocal in the government&#x27;s response to the COVID-19, also criticized Malacañang for saying the vaccine could be considered as &quot;tokens.&quot;&quot;How can it be a token in minimal value? It&#x27;s one of the most sought-after products in the world right now,&quot; he said.Government officials earlier cited national security for bringing in the vaccine, even as the local Food and Drug Authority was yet to approve any candidate vaccine. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana earlier Wednesday also admitted the vaccines were smuggled but the move was &quot;justified.&quot;&quot;Explain lang talaga ng PSG kung bakit nila ginawa &#x27;yon. Justified naman eh. Anyway &#x27;yong vaccine naman ay hindi fake. Totoo naman,&quot; he said.(The PSG should explain why they did it. It&#x27;s still justified. Anyway, the vaccine was not fake. It&#x27;s real.)Leachon however said FDA must investigate how PSG got hold of such vaccine, which were reportedly developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm.&quot;You need really to investigate and go to the bottom of the problem kasi (because) this will erode the credibility of the vaccination program. Hindi siya basta-basta eh (This is not a simple matter),&quot; he said.Duterte was also &quot;naive&quot; for baring the early vaccination of PSG members, said Leachon. &quot;I think the President was naive in terms of whether that particular act ay legal o hindi (is legal or not),&quot; he said, adding he was surprised that Duterte, a lawyer and former prosecutor, revealed this in front of a regulatory agency chief.Duterte on Saturday revealed that some soldiers were vaccinated against COVID-19. News of PSG&#x27;s inoculation dismayed health-care workers, who are at higher risk of contracting the virus. Since the pandemic began, the Philippines has tallied over 471,000 coronavirus infections, of which more than 9,000 have died.<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Rq2DAGFH2Lk?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>

The inoculation of President Rodrigo Duterte's security men sans a regulatory approval could set a bad precedent in the government's massive vaccination program next year, a health expert said Wednesday.

The inoculation of President Rodrigo Duterte's security men sans a regulatory approval could set a bad precedent in the government's massive vaccination program next year, a health expert said Wednesday.