DOH chief Duque gets Sinovac jab

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III received his first dose of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine in Manila City.

Duque, who is a senior citizen, received the CoronaVac jab developed by Chinese firm Sinovac Biotech.

He encouraged everyone to get vaccinated, emphasizing that vaccines are safe and effective for public health protection.

His vaccination was permitted after CoronaVac's use was approved for senior citizens, a change from its initial recommendation for younger, healthy individuals.

The Food and Drug Administration allowed the use of CoronaVac on the elderly due to a shortage of AstraZeneca doses.

As of April 20, over 1.3 million Filipinos, including health workers, senior citizens, and those with comorbidities, have been vaccinated.

The Philippines has recorded a total of 971,049 COVID-19 cases with 846,691 recoveries and 16,370 deaths as of Thursday afternoon.