The Philippines has among Asia’s highest numbers of infections, which rose to 136,638 yesterday (10) after a record daily jump of 6,958 cases.
“I will tell President (Vladimir) Putin that I have huge trust in your studies in combating Covid and I believe that the vaccine that you have produced is really good for humanity,” Duterte said on television.
To allay public fears, Duterte offered to be a guinea pig when the vaccine arrives and said: “I can be the first they can experiment on.”
His office said the Philippines stands ready to work with Russia on vaccine trials, supply and production.