Duterte’s doctor decided on sched for 2nd Covid-19 jab

PRESIDENT RODRIGO  Duterte got his second jab of the Covid-19 vaccine later than the recommended three to four-week interval upon the advice of his attending physician, Malacañang said on Wednesday.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque made this remark following concerns raised over the length of the interval before Duterte got his second Covid-19 dose.

Duterte was inoculated with his first dose of a vaccine developed by the Chinese state-owned pharmaceutical company Sinopharm on May 3.

He got his second jab on July 12 or exactly 70 days after his first shot.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends an interval of three to four weeks between the first and second dose. If the second dose is administered less than three weeks after the first, the dose does not need to be repeated.

“If administration of the second dose is delayed beyond four weeks, it should be given at the earliest possible opportunity. It is recommended that all vaccinated individuals receive two doses,” the WHO said.

Roque said it was Duterte’s physician who decided on the chief executive’s schedule to receive the vaccine shot.

“Noong tinurukan po si Presidente, presente po o present po iyong kaniyang personal physician. Hindi po nagpakita sa camera, pero (When the President was inoculated, his personal physician was present. He was not seen on camera, but) he was present, so that’s a decision po of his attending physician,” Roque said in a Palace press briefing.

He said Duterte and his physician have agreed on the former’s schedule for receiving his second vaccine jab.

“Iyan po ay isang bagay na between (That is a matter between) the President and his attending physician,” he added.

In May, the WHO included Sinopharm in its emergency use listing.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared Sinopharm for emergency use in June.

Initially, FDA only issued a compassionate use license for the inoculation of 10,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine to members of the Presidential Security Group.

Sinopharm is more than 70 percent effective against symptomatic Covid-19 at least two weeks after second jab, studies showed.