Posted on 09/15/2020 8:21:41 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
MANILA -- The Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Monday he will prioritize COVID-19 vaccines developed by Russia or China, his geopolitical allies, instead of those made by western pharmaceutical companies which he accused of looking for profit amid the pandemic.
"If the vaccine of Russia and China are equally good and effective just as any other vaccine by any country, I will buy (them) first," Rodrigo Duterte said in a televised Monday night speech, in which he offered his collaboration to Russian and Chinese companies that are developing a vaccine.
The president explained that he prefers to work with China or Russia because of their "generosity" towards the Philippines at the beginning of the pandemic, when uncertainty reigned.
"We were drifting, then this storm came. No other country helped us," said Duterte, who has received donations of medicines, masks and protective equipment from both countries, but also from other nations as well as generous financial aid from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.
The president criticized that many Western companies "want cash advance" to guarantee the supply of the vaccine, although none have yet been approved; whereas with China or Russia they don't need to "beg or plead."
“One thing wrong with Western countries, it's all profit, profit, profit. There's a pandemic, and you say, 'We have something for sale. Or something to sell to you," said Duterte, who took a more strong stance against the US and the European Union when these countries criticized human rights abuses in the war on drugs campaign launched by the president.
"There is nothing with finality and you want us to make a reservation by depositing money. You must be crazy. If (those) companies or their representatives are here and if I happened to have dinner outside and see you somewhere, I'll kick your ass," Duterte said, visibly angry.
The Philippines is in talks with Russia to start clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine in October; although it is also negotiating with China to acquire the vaccines from the Sinovac and Sinopharm companies.
The Russian candidate for the coronavirus vaccine has shown encouraging results in two small-scale trials, according to the prestigious British medical journal The Lancet. However, it has yet to undergo large-scale testing, in what would be phase 3 of the clinical trial to evaluate their safety and effectiveness.
Manila and Moscow are finalizing the procedures to start part of phase 3 in the Philippines in October, and even to mass-produce Sputnik V in the Asian country.
To reaffirm his confidence in the Russian vaccine, Duterte even pledged in August to be the first Filipino to publicly get the vaccine and thanked Putin for this "great contribution to humanity."
The Philippines is the epicenter of COVID-19 in Southeast Asia with 265,888 cases, of which 58,754 are still active. It is also the second country in the region - after Indonesia - in the number of deaths - 4,630 in total - despite having one of the strictest quarantines in the world.
With almost 14 million population and more than half of the country's COVID-19 cases, the capital Manila on Tuesday marked six months of lockdown, the longest in the world.
ALSO REPORTED HERE:
TITLE: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he would prioritize China and Russia in sourcing a Covid-19 vaccine over Western drugmakers, which require cash advances in exchange for supplies.
TITLE:
Coronavirus vaccine: Duterte takes swipe at western suppliers, to prioritise China, Russia
https://www.rt.com/russia/500753-philippines-covid-vaccine-russia/
TITLE: Western pharma is ‘all about profit’: Philippines’ Duterte vows to procure coronavirus vaccines from Russia & China only
The Duterte haters will ignore this
"If the vaccine of Russia and China are equally good and effective just as any other vaccine by any country, I will buy (them) first,"
Rodrigo Duterte
I would trust the non-RNA changing vaccine from Russia over a Bill Gates one, too.
RE: If the vaccine of Russia and China are equally good and effective just as any other vaccine by any country, I will buy (them) first
That’s a big “IF” of course.
Ignoring the US if we come up with it first ?
All I've seen is get it done the fastest.
the profit is already in the bank: the first covid stimulus bill contained several billion dollars to be spent on covid vaccines and the FedGov has already shoveled billions to vaccine companies to buy hundreds of millions of doses in advance of a proven vaccine even existing ...
The Russians are already in production. Haven’t anything about a US version actually being used yet.
So Putin is going to test his vaccine in the Philippines? Good luck with that.
That race is over...
Dutarte has the crazy gene and it helps. Just ask the (former) drug dealers. Unfortunately with people like him
you get the whole package. He’s there for 3-4 more years and the people love the U.S. But then they loved the U.S. under Marcos.
First, Bill Gates doesn’t make vaccines. He owns no companies that make any. Neither he nor his foundation hold shares in any vaccine makers. SEC filings prove that.
Second, none of the vaccine candidates have any means by which to make any insertions or deletions to any DNA or RNA. That’s not how the mRNA platform works. It’s just some messenger RNA inside a lipid shell. The mRNA is presented to some of your cells’ ribosomes, which dutifully produce the encoded glycoprotein, which in this case is the surface protein (antigen) for SARS-CoV-2. It’s harmless by itself, but your immune system recognizes it as foreign and it triggers a T-cell and B-cell response that confers lasting immunity.
It is harmful to President Trump’s reelection campaign to spread fear and misinformation about his signature response to the coronavirus. It is also harmful to the president’s efforts to help the country return to normal so we can rebuild the economy. Consider that before continuing to spread fear and misinformation about the vaccines he’s supporting.
“You must be crazy.”
Can I quote you on that?
“You must be crazy.”
Can I quote you on that?
Also the democrats are putting political pressure on US companies to delay a vaccine release so Trump isn't given credit.
As the saying goes, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. The Russian and Chinese vaccines seem to work without a lot of people dying of side effects.
Better a vaccine that might have minor problems than no vaccine.
In the US, high risk is mainly the elderly, and there are lots of hospital beds, but here younger folks are dying and the hospitals in Manila are full. To deliver rice there, our drivers need a recent covid test and are screened at checkpoints. They have to wear a mask and faceshield.
To walk the dog, I need a mask, but for the bank I also need a faceshield. For 3 months non essential stores were closed, and grocery stores limited how many could go inside. Now they are open, but as an elder I am not supposed to go into stores or church.
But so many are out of work that people literally could start starving in the next few months. A vaccine would enable the economy to open.
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