MANILA, Philippines — Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez, who is not on the priority list for vaccination, was inoculated with a China-made Sinovac coronavirus vaccine on Monday. Yet in photos posted to his personal Facebook page, Romualdez is seen being administered a COVID-19 vaccine by a Department of Health nurse at the City Health Office. As the Mayor, I am also a frontliner," he said in mixed Filipino and English, adding that he "felt fine" after his inoculation. Earlier, Marikina City Mayor Marcy Teodoro disclosed that the national government rejected his request to be vaccinated with the Sinovac jabs. Health officials recorded 8,019 additional COVID-19 infections earlier Monday afternoon, bringing the national caseload to 671,792.

Source: Philippine Star March 23, 2021 05:01 UTC