Lorenzana clarifies he did not get vaccinated with Sinovac vaccine

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Saturday said he did not receive the CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine from Sinovac, contrary to reports.

"No, I did not," Lorenzana said in a message sent to reporters when asked for confirmation about it.

"Photo ops lang," he added. Lorenzana visited the Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City on Friday to observe the COVID-19 vaccination program using Sinovac.

The Defense secretary was reported to have received the vaccine on Friday despite Health Secretary Francisco Duque III's advice against it due to his old age.

Lorenzana previously said that Duque told him there were other vaccines appropriate for his age of 72 such as AstraZeneca’s vaccine.

The Philippine Food and Drug Administration last month granted an emergency use authorization (EUA) for Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine.

“This should be administered by vaccination providers and to prevent COVID-19 in clinically healthy individuals aged 18 to 59 years old,” FDA Director General Dr. Eric Domingo said.

As for AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, Domingo earlier said it can be administered on individuals aged 18 years and above. The FDA granted EUA to AstraZeneca's vaccine in January.

The rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in the country officially started on Monday after the Philippines received the donation of 600,000 doses of Sinovac CoronaVac vaccines from China.

A total of 487,200 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University and British-Swedish pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca arrived on Thursday in the Philippines. —KG, GMA News