President Rodrigo Duterte has already decided to be vaccinated privately, according to Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque.
“He has said so. Sabi nga niya dahil sa puwet siya magpapasaksak so hindi pwedeng public (He had said so. He said it because he wants to be injected through the buttocks, so it should not be made public),” Roque disclosed on Tuesday.
Some world leaders also opted to be inoculated in private such as Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip of England and Pope Francis while the vaccination of United States President Joe Biden, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Indonesian President Joko Widodo were witnessed by the public.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Wednesday said the decision of President Duterte regarding his vaccination against COVID-19 should be respected. He clarified that the effect of the vaccine will not change despite its administration through other parts of the body.
“Kapag ang isang tao po ay hindi pwede, halimbawa ‘yung kanyang deltoid area ay masyado payat na payat na, binibigay natin sa ibang parte ng katawan, katulad ng ibang parte na muscular po ang tawag (If a person cannot be [injected], for example,if his deltoid area is very thin, we administer it through other parts of the body that are muscular),” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire explained.
“Pwedeng roon sa anterolateral part of the thigh or pwede rin po sa pwet. Nabibigay rin po ‘yan sa upper part of the butt (It can be in the anterolateral part of the thigh or at the buttocks. It can also be through the upper part of the butt),” Vergeire added.
The brand that will be given to President Duterte has not yet been confirmed. However, he previously stated his preference is either a vaccine developed by China or Russia. – Report from Mark Fetalco
