MANILA – Two Chinese coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine makers will seek emergency use authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the Philippines sometime this week, according to Philippine ambassador to China Chito Sta. Romana.
During Palace’s virtual presser on Monday, Sta. Romana said Beijing-backed Sinopharm and Sinovac will soon file their EUA application.
“Our embassy is in touch with these two companies of course and we try to facilitate their contact with IATF [Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases] and if there’s any information that’s needed,” Sta. Romana added.
The Chinese government said it granted provisional approval for general use of a vaccine produced by Sinopharm – a state-owned pharmaceutical company.
Sinovac’s application for general use in China, however, is still pending and the firm expects to hear from authorities by mid-January.
“The Chinese government has already repeated they will share some of their vaccines with developing countries but there’s no hard figure yet on how many doses it can send to the Philippines. It is subject to negotiations between the company and the national government,” Sta. Romana said.
An EUA will authorize a vaccine’s use in the Philippines after a quicker than usual, 21-day study by the FDA.
The Philippines aims to rollout the first phase of its COVID-19 vaccination program in the coming months./PN
