Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ask the United States to provide more vaccines

Despite of the willingness of the Filipinos to get vaccinated, vaccine supply is inadequate

By Edward Era Barbacena

Many of Filipinos are more than willing to be inoculated amid the rapid spread of the dreadful Delta variant. But due to the lack of supplies of the vaccines, many have to wait for their turns to get vaccinated.

President Rodrigo Duterte has asked the United States to make its COVID-19 vaccines available to the Philippines amid the lack of vaccine supply and the surge of COVID-19 cases in the country.

"I am just asking America to give us more If there are any available supplies . I know that 'we first before you.' We understand it and we accept it but if there is an excess of supply, please lend us a helping hand," Duterte said in his weekly address to the nation early Tuesday.

"We have the money. We buy. We do not ask," the president added.

The government has so far been dealing with a less than adequate supply of COVID-19 jabs to inoculate 70% percent of the country's population.

The Philippines started its COVID-19 vaccination program last March 1. The country has so far inoculated over 12 million individuals.

Vaccine brands delivered to the Philippines to date include Moderna, Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech and Sputnik V.

Cases of COVID-19 in the country reached 1,755,846 with 1,618,808 recoveries and 30,366 deaths.—

Though the Philippines number of cases and fatalities is relatively low as compared to the United States, still it is considered as very alarming and vaccination is very expedient amid the pandemic.

United States on the other hand, though the supplies of vaccines are considered sufficient, driven by conspiracy theory, about 20 to 30 percent of the population across the country refuse to to be vaccinated.

The Intrepid Journalism

Monday, 16 August 2021