Sinovac jab efficacy still being assessed

Although covered by emergency use authorization (EUA) for local application, the vaccine for COVID-19 of China’s Sinovac is still being assessed for its efficacy, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

At a virtual briefing yesterday, WHO country representative Rabindra Abeyasinghe said the WHO is leaving it up to the Philippine government to recalibrate its vaccination program with Sinovac.

He declined to comment on the decision of the local Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to grant EUA to Sinovac.

The manufacturer, he said, may have provided information which served as basis for the FDA in the Philippines to decide on the limited use of Sinovac.

He said the WHO has not been provided with such data.

“In the absence of clear information that WHO can access, we leave it to Philippine FDA and Philippine government to prioritize what would be the most impact of the vaccination program with the Sinovac,” Abeyasinghe said.

He said WHO will come out with a recommendation after establishing clear evidence of efficacy of the vaccine on a particular age group.

The WHO official said delay in the procurement of vaccines is not a problem unique

to the Philippines.

“I must commend teams of the DOH (Department of Health) and the NTF (National Task Force against COVID-19) who are playing important role to fast track this process, but unfortunately this is not a problem unique to the Philippines,” Abeyasinghe said.

“This is a common problem to all 18 countries that were earmarked for the early roll out,” he pointed out.

“I am not sure what more we can do, many people working in this area are working day and night,” he added.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Abeyasinghe said WHO has been advocating for equitable access to effective COVID vaccines. WHO, he said, is ensuring that COVID vaccines would be accessible even to low- and middleincome countries as well as to frontliners and the most vulnerable to infection.

However, Abeyasinghe said pharmaceutical firms were unable to produce the vaccines fast enough.

He expressed optimism that more vaccines would be manufactured by the middle of the year or by the fourth quarter.

He also said the Philippines is taking the necessary measures to address the delay in the delivery of Pfizer vaccines .

“There have been delays in finalizing the commitment between Pfizer and the Philippine government. (But) I have seen communication last night which indicates measures are being taken to address those issues and we believe that the limited quantity of Pfizer vaccine will be shipped as early as possible once the required exchange of letters is completed, requirements are met by the Philippine government and Pfizer,” Abeyasinghe said.

He also reported that the Philippines has accomplished all the necessary requirements to access AstraZeneca vaccines possibly by next month.

“There is no requirement in the case of AstraZeneca for further exchange of letter between manufacturer and Philippine government, so we are optimistic before the end of this week we will hear from COVAX initiative on likely delivery dates of AstraZeneca to the Philippines,” Abeyasinghe said.

SMC allots P1 B for vaccines

Meanwhile, San Miguel Corp. (SMC) announced it is spending close to P1 billion for the vaccination of all its 70,000 employees and extended workforce for free.

In a statement yesterday, SMC said it secured COVID-19 vaccine doses from various sources. The firm is currently working with the government for its vaccination strategy.

“Our program is in line with our core value of malasakit (care) and aims to create a safe and healthy workplace so that we can further contribute to our country’s economic recovery,” SMC president Ramon Ang said.

He said the company would be using vaccines that comply with safety protocols and covered by EUA.

While the vaccines would be administered on a voluntary basis, Ang is hopeful all eligible employees would sign up to get inoculated.

SMC’s move shows the important role businesses play in vaccination to achieve herd immunity.

“It is our civic duty and our best chance at protecting ourselves and those we love. It is the best thing we can do today to help contain this pandemic, protect the vulnerable and help speed up economic recovery,” Ang said.

While waiting for the vaccines, he said the company would continue to implement health measures.