FDA chief Domingo inoculated with Sinovac's COVID-19 vaccine

MANILA — Food and Drug Administration (FDA) director general Eric Domingo said Monday he opted to get vaccinated with the Chinese vaccine CoronaVac as he was an ophthalmologist and not a COVID-19 frontliner.

The FDA earlier advised against the use of Sinovac's jab on healthworkers with direct exposure to virus patients after a Brazil study found it has a lower efficacy rate on the said sector.

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Domingo, the third to receive the Chinese vaccine at the Philippine General Hospital, said he did not feel anything when he was inoculated.

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"Siguro, mas maliit yung needle at magaling ang nurse namin sa PGH, wala akong naramdaman dun sa injection. At saka, mas maliit yung volume," he told ABS-CBN's TeleRadyo.

(I did not feel anything, maybe it was because the needle was small and the nurse who administered it was good. And the volume was small.)

Some 12 percent or around 400 to 500 PGH healthworkers are set to receive the Chinese vaccine on Monday and Tuesday, Domingo said.

PGH spokesperson Jonas del Rosario earlier said the hospital's staff are awaiting the results of a Department of Health panel's assessment of CoronaVac.

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The Philippines, which has so far recorded more than 576,000 confirmed coronavirus infections, officially rolled out its COVID-19 vaccination program on Monday.

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