Duterte to skip arrival of first batch of Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccines

President Rodrigo Duterte will not be physically present during the arrival of the first batch of Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccines on Wednesday, April 28, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Tuesday.

“Wala po sa schedule niya,” Roque said when asked if President Duterte will personally receive the 15,000 doses of the Russian-made vaccine.

Roque, however, said the President could grace the occasion once the bulk of Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccines arrive.

“Ang darating po bukas ay kakaunti pa lang 15,000 pa lang. Kasi ito iyong kumbaga trial order, kasi negative 20 [degrees Celsius] ang kinakailangan na storage facility ng Sputnik V. So titingnan po natin kung magkakaroon ng schedule ang Pangulo na sumalubong kapag dumating na iyong bulto ng Sputnik V,” Roque said.

[The shipment coming tomorrow is only a small one, just 15,000 doses. Because it's the trial order, as it were, as the vaccine needs to be stored at -20 degrees Celsius. We will see if the President will be to receive the bulk of the order when it arrives.]

“We expect 485,000 doses of Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccines to arrive also within the month,” Roque added.

Roque said that the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccines will be deployed in Metro Manila, considering that health facilities in this area have the capacity for the required -20°C storage.

Based on the evaluation of the Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Sputnik V's efficacy rate is at 91%.

The Philippines has 71,675 active COVID-19 cases so far. Of this number, 7,204 new COVID-19 cases were recorded on April 27. — BM, GMA News