DOH: Probe into illegal COVID-19 vaccinations to cover Mon Tulfo

The Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday said the investigation into the illegal vaccination of Presidential Security Group (PSG) members will cover former broadcaster Ramon "Mon" Tulfo, currently the country's special envoy to China.

This was after Tulfo admitted that he received a Sinopharm vaccine even though it has not been authorized for use in the country. 

"'Yung mga ganyan, katulad niyan, may lumalabas pa rin na ibang tao na umaamin na nabakunahan sila, ito po ay makakasama sa imbestigasyon and all of these things, kapag nakita natin na hindi ayon sa batas na meron tayo sa bansa, will be considered illegal," Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a virtual briefing.

"Kung sino man po ‘yung mga kababayan natin o 'di kaya ay mga distributors or suppliers na nagbibigay nitong mga bakunang wala pa hong emergency use authority ay magkakaroon ng appropriate investigation and if there will be violations, magkaka-sanction po," she added.

In an interview on One News on Tuesday, Tulfo said he received the shot as he was interested in being a distributor of the Sinopharm vaccine in the country

"Kaya ko naisipan na magpabakuna kasi ang available sa market although smuggled nga kaya ay gusto kong makatiyak na kung effective sa akin, malamang effective sa sambayanan," he said.

He also said he does not see any conflict of interest in his getting vaccinated with a Chinese vaccine and his bid to be a distributor for the Chinese firm all while being President Rodrigo Duterte's special envoy.

"You have to understand that although I'm special envoy to China, I'm also a private citizen. Naga-apply ako ng distributorship ng Sinopharm," Tulfo said.  

But Vergeire stressed that vaccines need to undergo regulation.

"Kung talagang siya ay talagang itinalaga na supplier o local distributor nitong bakuna na ito sa ating bansa, kailangan nilang mag-apply ng mga necessary permits, licenses, and also the EUA," she explained.

Food and Drug Administration chief Eric Domingo confirmed in a Laging Handa briefing that Sinopharm has not yet filed an application for an EUA.

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said he is not aware of Tulfo's claim that he has already received shots against COVID-19.

"That is news to me," Nograles said in an ANC interview earlier in the day. "I really don’t know the details."

Nograles said the issue was not tackled during Monday night's Cabinet meeting presided over by the President.   

Last year, the PSG came under fire after Duterte himself revealed that they received Sinopharm’s COVID-19 vaccine. 

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana later admitted the vaccines were smuggled as they were not yet cleared for use in the Philippines. 

Until now, the FDA and DOH’s questions on the unauthorized vaccination of the PSG remain unanswered. 

“Hanggang ngayon po wala pa rin kasagutan ‘yung aming tanong. Pati po ang DOH sumulat sa kanila pero as of now wala pa po kaming nakukuhang impormasyon,” Domingo said.

He added that Tulfo’s admission has been referred to the FDA’s regulatory enforcement unit for further investigation.

“Kaya nga po iniimbestigahan siya dahil talaga nga pong hindi naman maganda na nalalaman natin na may mga ganitong nagpapabakuna nang hindi dumadaan sa tamang proseso,” Domingo said.

Vaccine hesitancy

Meanwhile, Vergeire urged the public to trust COVID-19 vaccines despite recent controversies.

"Marami pong mga naglalabas ng opinyon, marami pong naglalabas ng mga artikulo sa ating mga newspaper, sa social media tungkol sa ating mga bakuna, sana hindi naman po madagdagan pa ang hesitancy ng ating mga kababayan sa bakuna dahil dito sa pagtatalo-talo na ito," she said.

"Alam po natin ang kahalagahan ng mga bakunang ito, especially for our most vulnerable population at atin pong susundin ang sinasabi ng ating mga eksperto at regulatory process."

Only the COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, and Sinovac have been approved for emergency use in the Philippines. — KBK/RSJ, GMA News