Members of the security details of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte “smuggled” an unauthorized COVID-19 vaccine into the country and administered it themselves, a defense official said on Wednesday.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said members of the Presidential Security Group obtained the vaccine without government authorization or to the knowledge of the government.
When asked if the vaccine was smuggled into the county, Lorenzana said, “Yes, smuggling, because they were not authorized, only the government can authorize.”
No vaccine has been approved by the country’s Food and Drug Administration.
Lorenzana said the unit must “explain why they violated FDA rules,” but continued to downplay the move.
“It is justified … it will protect them so that they are not infected and, at the same time, be able to protect the president,” Lorenzana said.
The head of the PSG general, Brigadier General Jesus Durante, also defended the guards who use the unauthorized vaccine as a decision taken in “good faith”.
Durante said the unit could not afford to wait for a coronavirus vaccine to be approved.
The president was only informed of the subsequent episode, Durante said.
It is not clear how the vaccine was obtained or which it was used.
Health Minister Francisco Duque said the country’s FDA was investigating.
With Post threads