MANILA – The interim National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG) recommended the use of Sinovac’s coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine for health workers.
Department of Health (DOH) undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said NITAG and the DOH Technical Advisory Group (TAG) have agreed that Sinovac is safe for use based on the currently available evidence.
“NITAG and the DOH-TAG has deemed it sufficient to recommend the use of the vaccine for health care workers as it bears to reiterate that our goal for prioritizing health care workers for vaccination is to reduce morbidity and mortality among their group, while they maintain the most critical essential health services,” Vergeire said in a virtual press conference on Friday afternoon.
NITAG member Dr. Maria Consorcia Quizon said the China-made vaccine is a “safe vaccine.”
“[Sinovac] is safe for use for health care workers. We need to protect them. Since ito ang available ngayon, kailangan nating gamitin para sa kanila,” said Quizon.
Despite the development, Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said frontline workers will not be forced to get Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccines because they have the choice to choose the vaccine they prefer.
“Wala pong pilitan. ‘Yung gusto mag-antay nga po ng ibang brand siguro, ang concession na maibibigay sa kanila is puwede sila humindi at puwede sila mag-antay without losing their priority kasi ‘yan naman ang nakasulat sa EUA (emergency use authorization),” said Roque said.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which granted EUA to the Chinese vaccine, earlier said Sinovac is not recommended for medical frontliners as it showed a lower efficacy rate of 50.4 percent.
The first batch of the vaccine is expected to arrive in the country on Sunday, with soldiers and health workers as the top priority for inoculation./PN
