Dela Rosa prefers to get vaccinated with China's Sinopharm vaccine

Senator Ronald Dela Rosa said he would prefer to receive a COVID-19 vaccine from China's Sinopharm, if given the choice.

In a radio interview on Saturday, Dela Rosa expressed willingness to be inoculated in public to help boost Filipinos' confidence in vaccine.

He pointed out, however, that he would only get a vaccine from the ones approved by vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez, Jr.

"Kung nanaisin nila, kung meron man akong impluwensya sa mga kababayan natin, then I'm willing to do it in public para maka-impluwensya sa kanila," he said.

"Basta kay Secretary Galvez na bakuna. Hindi yung mga bakuna diyan na patago-tago, kung meron man. Baka mamaya peke pa yun. Sinong hahabulin ko kapag nadisgrasya tayo diyan? So makisiguro tayo," he added.

Pressed further which vaccine he would get, Dela Rosa said he would choose the one from Sinopharm, as his own research showed that it was the safest among the vaccine brands.

"Kung tanungin ako ni Sec. Galvez kung anong brand gusto ko, sabihin ko siguro baka Sinopharm siguro.... Nag-conduct ako ng sariling research, lumabas na ito yung pina-safe na technology na ginamit nila," he claimed.

However, Galvez himself said earlier that buying Chinese firm Sinopharm's COVID-19 vaccine will be "very problematic" due to its hefty price of $76.

“Even [if] we can cut the price [in] half it will be seven times higher that AstraZeneca's [price],” Galvez said.

“It doesn't make sense to buy Sinopharm when you can buy [an] equally safe and effective brand from China and from [the] US with [the] same or higher effects and efficacy.”

Nevertheless, MKG Universal Trading Corporation, Sinopharm's distributor in the Philippines, maintained that the Chinese pharmaceutical firm's vaccine against COVID-19 is affordable.

MKG president and CEO Mark Tolentino said the price of the vaccine will be cheaper than others considering that Sinopharm is a state-owned company and the procurement will be between the Chinese and the Philippine governments. —LBG, GMA News