Phl to welcome first vaccines Sunday
Our basis for accepting this is the emergency use authorization given by the FDA, because we all know that if it gives clearance, the safety and efficacy are assured
The Philippine government expects the arrival of 600,000 vaccine doses from China’s Sinovac Biotech on Sunday, Malacañang announced Thursday, but it cannot be rolled out yet pending an official recommendation on its use.
During his televised briefing, presidential spokesperson Secretary Harry Roque excitedly told the public that the vaccine donated by Beijing, of which 100,000 doses are reserved for military troops, will be delivered to the country over the weekend.
This was confirmed by the Department of Health (DoH), which said that the arrival ceremony will be held at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City.
President Rodrigo Duterte wants to personally welcome the first Covid-19 vaccines that will arrive in the Philippines to show his “debt of gratitude” to the Chinese government, Roque earlier said.
The DoH, however, said the vaccine cannot be administered yet since “specific details as to the allocation and subsequent rollout of the doses are still being evaluated” by the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG).
The group has to determine whether Sinovac’s vaccine will be administered to health care workers who are on top of the government’s priority list for vaccination, since Food and Drug Administration (FDA) director general Eric Domingo said the regulatory board does not recommend the jab for medical frontliners exposed to Covid-19 patients.
This came after CoronaVac’s late-stage trial in Brazil showed that it had an efficacy rate of 50.4 percent among medical workers — just a few points above the threshold set by the World Health Organization.
Chinese ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian thanked all those who have worked so hard to make this happen.
“It is a fine tradition between China and the Philippines to help each other in trying times. A friend in need is a friend indeed. The donation of vaccines is another testament to the solidarity as well as profound friendship and partnership between our two peoples and two countries.,” he said in a statement.
Fast tracking process
As this developed, Senator Christopher “Bong” Go assured the public that the government is fast tracking the process of acquiring vaccines against Covid-19.
During Go’s visit in Parola, Tondo, Manila where he personally led the distribution of assistance to 361 victims of a fire incident in the area, he said that President Rodrigo Duterte is constantly urging concerned officials to do everything necessary to expedite the vaccine rollout.
“We’ve been talking about this everyday,” he said referring to President Duterte.” We both were urging officials concerned that include Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and vaccine Czar Carlito Galvez Jr. to fast track the process.”
Roque, in his briefing, expressed hopes that the government can begin its vaccination drive on Monday with personnel of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) to be the first to receive it.
The official, however, clarified that he will still coordinate with other officials to confirm the matter.
Health care workers, the elderly, and people with comorbidities are supposed to receive the first Covid-19 vaccines in the country based on the priority list prepared by the government.
Officials have yet to announce whether the list needs to be shaken up in line with the FDA’s advice.
The decision is expected to come from the NITAG, composed of experts on immunology, infectious diseases, among others, and has to be approved by the pandemic task force.
Roque, however, said health care workers could still receive the vaccine although it is not recommended by the country’s regulatory board.
The Palace official, meanwhile, thanked the Chinese government anew for donating the jabs needed to jumpstart the country’s vaccination drive.
Dr. Gerardo Legaspi, PGH director, said hospital personnel are prepared to receive the Sinovac vaccines.
“Our basis for accepting this is the emergency use authorization (EUA) given by the FDA, because we all know that if it gives clearance, the safety and efficacy are assured,” he said.
Duterte is qualified to receive vaccine shots from Sinopharm under the compassionate use license since he is the commander in chief of the military.
Last week, the PGH said 94 percent of their employees have registered to receive the vaccine, higher than their initial survey in January.
Philippines trailing neighbors
The Philippines is trailing its Southeast Asian neighbors in terms of vaccination programs as limited global supply and paperwork stalled the shipment of doses in the country.
Roque downplayed the matter, saying other countries were only ahead of the Philippines for “just a few days.”
Jabs from Pfizer-BioNTech are expected to be delivered by mid-February via the World Health Organization-led COVAX facility, but its delivery was stalled by issues on indemnity for vaccine takers who will experience adverse effects.
On the other hand, the vaccine doses from Sinovac are supposed to arrive in the Philippines on 23 February, but China had to wait for the issuance of the EUA before shipping it to the country.
President Rodrigo Duterte’s office is studying whether he could receive a coronavirus vaccine developed by China’s Sinopharm through a “compassionate” use license, Malacañang said Thursday.
Roque said the Office of the President’s legal office is currently studying if Duterte could be included in the “compassionate” use license granted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to the Presidential Security Group.
FDA has recently issued a compassionate use license to Duterte’s security detail, allowing them to legally acquire 10,000 doses through a “one-time importation” for “future use.”
Roque, a lawyer, believed Duterte is qualified to receive vaccine shots from Sinopharm under the compassionate use license since he is the commander in chief of the military.
“It’s still being studied by the Malacañang legal office. If you ask me as a lawyer, he is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and he should be allowed to use the Sinopharm under the compassionate use license,” he said.
Given in two doses, CoronaVac works by exposing the body’s immune system to the virus — using killed viral particles — without risking a serious disease response.
To create it, Sinovac researchers obtained coronavirus samples from patients in China, Britain, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland, then grew large stocks of it in monkeys’ kidney cells.
They doused the viruses with a chemical called beta-propiolactone to make it “inactivated.”
On Wednesday night, Duque and Galvez vouched for CoronaVac’s safety and efficacy.
Clinically proven
Duque explained that Sinovac’s Covid-19 vaccine has been clinically proven to reduce symptomatic and asymptomatic cases, prevent hospitalization and severe cases, thus reducing deaths.
Galvez, for his part, noted that some world leaders such as Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam and Indonesian President Joko Widodo have received the shot.
He also said he, along with other top government officials, are willing to take the jab to boost public confidence in serums.
CoronaVac is the third Covid-19 vaccine that has received an EUA in the Philippines, following those developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca.
The EUA granted by the FDA is needed before vaccines could be imported, purchased, and administered by the national government to the public. However, it is not a license for commercial use.
Some 24.1 million vaccine doses are expected to be delivered to the Philippines in the second quarter, which will come from COVAX and government procurements.
Meanwhile, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III okayed the inclusion of all Covid-19 vaccines importation in the express lane of the Department of Finance (DoF).
This, after Finance Undersecretary Antonette Tionko recommended to likewise waive the filing of fees for Covid-19 vaccine applications under the agency’s Mabuhay Lane as well as the use of the Tax Exemption System online filing module for the process.
Under the DoF’s Mabuhay Lane, the tax exemption for the Covid-19 vaccine tax will be processed within 24 working hours.
“We add that the Mabuhay Lane currently processes all relief consignments under Section 120 in relation to 121 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act. The Lane is expected to process all Covid-19 vaccines which may qualify as relief consignment,” Tionko explained.