Filipino Cop Who Received Sinovac Vaccine Dies Of COVID-19

A police official from the Philippines died of COVID-19 just weeks after receiving his first dose of the CoronaVac vaccine from Beijing-based company Sinovac.

The police lieutenant, who got inoculated on March 31, started experiencing symptoms of the virus about a week later. In a report provided by the Philippine National Police (PNP) Health Service, the official was about 50 years old and resided in the Calabarzon region of the country. He reportedly experienced headaches, sore throat and difficulty breathing between April 7 and 11.

It wasn't until the cop got a swab test when it was found that he had contracted COVID-19. The man was then admitted to a hospital in Batangas on April 15 — from which his condition only worsened, local news outlet Philippine Daily Inquirer reported.

On April 28, the lieutenant was supposedly scheduled for blood filtration, or hemoperfusion. However, due to hospitals along the areas of Manila and Calabarzon being at full capacity, he was put on the waiting list.

He died of COVID-19 the next day, April 29, according to his physician.

“I would like to express my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family. As front-liners every PNP personnel is risking their own safety, the least that we could do is to assure them that we would be there for them and their family to extend all the necessary support,” said PNP Chief Debold Sinas in a statement.

The officer was the 56th PNP personnel who has died of the virus, according to Inquirer. He was also included in the priority list for the vaccine due to having comorbidities or having two or more diseases at the same time.

Last March, about 15 Filipino health workers tested positive for COVID-19 after receiving the Sinovac vaccine. Despite reports of vaccine hesitancy among Filipinos, health experts such as Dr. John Victor de Gracia continue to encourage the population to get vaccinated.

De Gracia noted that the Sinovac vaccine has prevented the development of severe symptoms among those who tested positive for COVID-19 after getting inoculated.

"I am thankful that we were vaccinated ahead of our virus infection that is why we did not experience anything bad from it. To be honest, if this happened before we got vaccinated, maybe some of us were already critically ill," the doctor told ABS-CBN News.

"They were among the city’s health workers who received their first dose of Sinovac that was given by the national government," he added.