THE Department of Health (DOH) on Friday, May 7, 2021, said President Rodrigo Duterte’s doctor and the Presidential Security Group (PSG) Hospital will be accountable for any possible adverse events following the President’s inoculation with a Sinopharm vaccine.
In a virtual press briefing, DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the applicants for a compassionate special permit (CSP) are accountable for adverse events following immunization (AEFI).
"It means that the hospital or doctor that applied for the CSP will be accountable here," she said.
The President received his first dose of the Sinopharm vaccine against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) on May 3.
The inoculation was covered by the CSP issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to the PSG Hospital for the use of 10,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine. A CSP does not allow commercial distribution of a drug or vaccine.
On May 6, the President apologized for using a vaccine that is not yet approved for emergency use in the Philippines.
He ordered the withdrawal of the Sinopharm vaccine delivered through the Chinese ambassador.
Malacañang said all but one dose will be returned as Duterte still has t to get his second dose of the same brand.
Vergeire said there is no protocol yet allowing the mixing of vaccines of different brands.
"We cannot give that recommendation to anybody, not to the President or anyone else,” she said.
"Until we get enough scientific evidence and our experts have recommended that, then that’s the only time that we are going to say that we recommend the mixing and matching of vaccines," she added. (HDT / SunStar Philippines)