FDA, DOH: Inoculated Tulfo Covered By Vaccine Contraband Investigation

Health officials said on Tuesday they would expand their investigation into an unauthorized vaccine smuggled into the country to include news columnist Ramon Tulfo, who recently revealed he had received two injections made by a Chinese state-owned pharmaceutical company .

Tulfo said in his Manila Times column last Saturday that he had already received two doses of the vaccine produced by the China National Pharmaceutical Group, popularly known as Sinopharm, as well as members of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) and ” some government officials ”last October. year.

“It will be investigated because it is not good that there are people who get vaccinated without going through the correct process and with an unauthorized vaccine,” said Eric Domingo, managing director. from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Wednesday. Laging Handa briefing.

The FDA is already investigating PSG for the use of a vaccine it had not yet approved. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the photos of President Duterte’s bodyguards were taken by Sinopharm and given as a “token.” He did not identify the donor.

Under Secretary of Health Maria Rosario Vergeire said in another briefing that the ongoing investigation into the illegal vaccine will now include Tulfo. “If there are violations, there will be sanctions,” she said.

No explanation from PSG

Domingo said PSG still had not responded to letters from the FDA and the Department of Health (DOH) demanding an explanation for its illegal use of the Sinopharm vaccine.

Sinopharm said that in December of last year, its vaccine was found to be 79.34% effective in protecting people from the coronavirus.

Tulfo, who was appointed by Duterte as his special envoy to China, said he had “risked” his life by getting the vaccine so that he could test the efficacy of the Sinopharm vaccine because he wanted to be one of his. distributors in the country. .

He said in an interview with One News PH three days after publishing his column that he saw no “conflict of interest” in trying to gain authority as a distributor while being a special envoy. Besides, he said, the title was only “honorary” and that he was still a private citizen.

A Foreign Ministry source told the Enquirer that while Tulfo still held that title, the country’s laws applied to him as a Filipino here in the country.

Reacting to reports of Tulfo’s actions but not referring to him by name, Aileen Lizada, commissioner of the Civil Service Commission (CSC), said that “civil servants are not above the law “.

“Truly, the recent disclosure made by an official about the use of an unregistered product and the plan to become a reseller of Sinopharm tests an official’s duty to the public,” Lizada said in a report. communicated.

“Although the said official escapes the disciplinary authority of the CSC as a presidential proxy, it is incumbent on him, like any other official, to act and behave in a manner worthy of being qualified as an official”, a- she declared. .

Lizada cited Republic Law No. 9711, Food and Drug Administration Law of 2009, and Republic Law No. 8203, or the Special Anti-Counterfeiting Law, which require registration before ‘a drug or product can be used by the public.

As of now, the FDA had given Emergency Use Clearance (EUA) to just three manufacturers of COVID-19 vaccines – Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca and Sinovac.

It also allowed PSG to use 10,000 doses of Sinopharm under a compassionate use license, but this would not be retroactive and would not cover last year’s illegal vaccinations.

‘VIP vaccination’

Carlos Isagani Zarate, Deputy House Minority Leader and representative for Bayan Muna, on Wednesday urged House leaders to launch their own investigation into the ‘VIP vaccination’ of uniformed and public officials following the revelations of Tulfo in his column.

“It appears that it is not only the presidential security group that has undergone the VIP vaccination, but other government officials are also using contraband vaccines, based on Tulfo’s confession,” Zarate said.

House Resolution 1451 of the Makabayan Block calling for a congressional inquiry into “VIP vaccination” was not scheduled for hearing.

“Investigating this anomaly would also end rumors that even members of Cabinet and members of Congress were also among those already vaccinated with Tulfo,” he said.

Bayan Muna representative Ferdinand Gaite said Tulfo’s use of contraband vaccines should be grounds for denying him any license to distribute Sinopharm vaccines.

“There are no vaccines for the population, but the allies of the Duterte administration are content to pass vaccines and benefit from a VIP vaccination. Instead of being ashamed of doing something wrong, he bragged about it, ”the lawmaker said.

Gaite cautioned against letting Tulfo break free of his admission and that people shouldn’t just be told to “get out” of the issue.

“Health workers and frontline workers are still waiting to be vaccinated. Meanwhile, Duterte’s men pass vaccines left and right and are secretly vaccinated. The government attributes their shortcomings to the supply chain, but apparently they are not having problems with the supply of contraband vaccines, ”he said, calling for an investigation into Tulfo’s allegations.

Domingo also contradicted Tulfo’s claim that the FDA was blocking the entry of Sinopharm’s vaccine into the country.

Sinopharm, which does not have a local Filipino distributor, has not submitted an application for an EUA or compassionate use license, he said.

“Sinopharm asked us who could apply for an EUA, but so far they haven’t sent any requests,” he said. “We accept all applications freely.”

Palace stand

Roque said Wednesday that Malacañang would leave it to the FDA to investigate Tulfo’s claims.

“In this time of pandemic, I understand that many want protection. But what we say to everyone is: let’s wait until he goes through the process for our own benefit, ”he said during a press briefing.

“We are awaiting action from the FDA on these things,” Roque added.

Asked whether there was a conflict of interest between Tulfo’s actions and being a special envoy, he replied: “We have no opinion. We leave that to the Mediator. ”

President Duterte preferred the Sinopharm vaccine for himself and his family and spoke directly over the phone with a company representative to obtain “samples” of the injections, according to Tulfo.

But Roque said he couldn’t confirm Tulfo’s account, adding that he hadn’t heard the conversation between the columnist and the president because he was in another room.

“I do not deny anything that Mon Tulfo said. What I’m saying is his article, ask him please, not me, ”he said.

—With reports from Jerome Aning, Julie M. Aurelio, Nikka G. Valenzuela, Tina G. Santos and Inquirer Research

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