Duterte: China may be one of the first to come up with COVID-19 vaccine

President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday expressed confidence that China will be one of the first countries that will discover a vaccine for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

"I'm very sure that they will be the first, one of the countries that will be able to come up with the vaccine," Duterte said in a meeting with officials.

Duterte earlier pinned his hopes on a vaccine being developed by American biotech firm Moderna, which reportedly produced "positive interim" results in its first clinical tests.

"The target is September.  I think China will be able to distribute, if I'm not mistaken, and the other countries are catching up. Everybody is at it and they are really tying their very best," Duterte said.

Wuhan in China is considered the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak.

Meanwhile, the Philippines has reported a total of 15,588 COVID-19 cases with 3,598 recoveries and 921 fatalities. —LDF, GMA News