Sinuportahan ni Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon noong Martes ang posisyon ng Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sa pagsasabing ang pamamahagi at pangangasiwa ng hindi awtorisadong bakuna ng Sinopharm COVID-19 nang walang wastong pahintulot ay labag sa batas at may katumbas na parusa.
Kasabay nito, kinuwestyon ni Drilon kung paano nakalusot ang mga bakuna na ginawa ng China sa Bureau of Customs (BoC).
“As government officials, our priority is the safety of our people. That is the very purpose of FDA authorization—to make sure that the vaccines that we administer to our people are safe, effective and of certain quality,” sinabi ni Drilon sa isa g pahayag.
“We, the leaders, should only obtain, approve and administer vaccines to our people, which we ourselves, will use,” dagdag ng senador.
Sinabi pa ng pinuno ng minorya na ang naiulat na pagbakuna sa ilang mga opisyal ng Gabinete at miyembro ng Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) “sets a bad example” at pinapahina ang mismong layunin ng paglikha ng FDA. Malinaw din itong paglabag sa FDA Circular No. 2020-036 o ang “Guidelines on the Issuance of Emergency Use Authorization for Drugs and Vaccines for COVID-19.”
Ang FDA, aniya, ay nariyan upang matiyak ang “purity, safety, efficacy and quality of drugs and vaccines in the country.”
-Hannah L. Torregoza