Duterte to unbelievers in vaccines: Die five times if you want...

Individuals who do not believe in getting vaccinated against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can go ahead and die, President Rodrigo Duterte said on Thursday night.

In a televised talk to the people, Duterte said the problem was the people who may get infected by those who refuse to get inoculated.

“The problem with being a bravado... If I were to talk to you in the gutter language, sabihin ko sa 'yo p—ina mo,” Duterte said.

“Mamatay ka na kung gusto mo, limang beses. Ang problema ang mahawa mo,” he added.

[Go ahead and die if you want, five times. The problem is the people you will infect.]

Over 1.2 million doses of vaccines against COVID-19 have been administered as of April 13.

Duterte said that the Philippines did not fall short in its COVID-19 response, saying that the government is working and doing everything to fix the situation.

The country has reported a total of 904,285 confirmed cases

Vaccine shortage

Duterte indicated that there was insufficient supply of vaccines.

"The stocks that are coming in are barely enough to inoculate our health workers," Duterte said.

"Now, when will we have sufficient vaccines to vaccinate the people? I really do not know, nobody knows," he added. 

Duterte said it would take a long time before the country received more vaccine doses, citing that more people might die due to the illness.

"Unavailable, because there is no sufficient supply to inoculate the world," Duterte said.

Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. previously said the Philippines would receive two million COVID-19 vaccine doses from Sinovac and Gamaleya this month.

Some 194,000 vaccine shots from American biotech firm Moderna will arrive in May, said Galvez. --NB, GMA News