Supposed COVID-19 vaccine received by 2 lawmakers not from government -Palace

Malacañang said Monday the supposed COVID-19 vaccine that two lawmakers allegedly received did not come from the government.

“Kung mayroon hong ibang mga tao na nakapagbakuna na, hindi po iyan galing sa gobyerno. Ang assurance ng Presidente, basta binili po ng ating gobyerno, uunahin ang pinakamahihirap,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said at a news conference in Davao City.

Roque was reacting to reports that Senator Panfilo Lacson and House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez got a vaccine against COVID-19.

Lacson did not categorically deny the claim of Senate President Vicente Sotto III, but hinted that it might be a joke.

The Philippines has yet to approve a COVID-19 vaccine although there were plans to extend emergency use authorization to some vaccine candidates.

US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech said last week that their potential vaccine was found to be 95% effective based on the results of final-stage testing.

American biotechnology firm Moderna had reported that its vaccine candidate was 94.5% effective at preventing people from catching the virus. Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, meanwhile, is said to be 92% effective based on interim results.—AOL, GMA News