Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has called for the COVID-19 vaccine to be administered to the buttocks amid controversy over the president’s refusal to be vaccinated in public.
The Minister of Health, Francisco Duque, defended Duterte’s decision and stated that “it must be respected”. “Her decision could be seen as the decision of the British monarchy. The Queen of England does not want to be vaccinated in front of the whole world,” he said.
Although critics believe that Duterte prefers to be vaccinated in private so as not to show what dose is being applied to him in full controversy over the safety of state-distributed vaccines, Duque clarified that the important thing is “if vaccinated in the buttocks has the same effect” and assured that in this case, “it is the same” with vaccination in the arm.
However, in order to ensure the safety and efficacy of the vaccine in the population, Carlito Galvez, who is responsible for the distribution of vaccines, expressed his desire to be vaccinated in public.
“We are willing to be vaccinated, but we hope that when this happens, we will not be criticized because we have received some kind of special treatment,” he said, according to information from the ABS-CBN chain.