Hopes run high the Philippines will be able to secure supply deals for 150 million doses of vaccines against the novel coronavirus by January, Malacañang said Tuesday, rejecting criticism on the pace of the government's efforts to procure the drug.
Presidential and Inter-Agency Task Force Spokesman Harry Roque told a virtual conference the government was still negotiating for the vaccine supply, in reference to Secretary Carlito Galvez who heads inoculation efforts against COVID-19.
Roque said: “Your government has not been negligent on this matter. As our vaccine czar said, January of next year will not end without us sealing contracts for 150 million vaccine doses.”
But he stopped short of specifying which vaccine developers the country hopes to strike a deal with although he had said the government was eyeing to use 4 vaccines against the novel coronavirus by the first three months of 2021: from Russia's Gamaleya Institute, and China's Sinovac, Sinopharm and CanSino.
Roque noted some critics had remarked the Philippines was lagging behind other countries that had started their mass vaccination programs against COVID-19.
"That is not true. As I've said, it is only natural for rich countries to get the supply first because they gave funds so that those vaccines can be developed.”
Wealthy nations have cornered 8.15 billion vaccine jabs, he said, citing a Bloomberg report.
With funding from local firms, the government has so far secured 2.6 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by British drugs group AstraZeneca.
However, the Food and Drug Administration has not yet approved any vaccine for emergency use, as of Tuesday.
Clinical trial
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Phase 3 clinical trial application of Janssen COVID-19 vaccine, director general Eric Domingo announced Tuesday.
Domingo referred to the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Johnson and Johnson.
Domingo, however, said such approval would not guarantee the Philippines a Janssen COVID-19 vaccine supply deal.
Domingo gave assurances Janssen’s clinical trials in the Philippines would be beneficial to Filipinos in terms of speeding up regulatory approval if the vaccine turns out to be effective.
“If this turns out to be a good vaccine, it will be easier for us to make authorization,” Domingo said.
The COVID-19 vaccine developed by Johnson and Johnson earlier secured approval from the Vaccine Experts panel and the Ethics Review Board.
The VEP under DOST reviews the Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials of the candidate vaccine, while the Ethics Board evaluates the selection for participants for human clinical trials, among other safeguards that the vaccine manufacturer provided for the participants.
'Rush vaccine'
A leader of the House of Representatives urged the Food and Drug Administration to rush the approval of the use of COVID-19 vaccines that have been vetted by their countries of origin.
“There should be no red tape in the approval or authorization process because this is a race to save lives,” Deputy Majority Leader and Quezon City Rep. Precious Hipolito Castelo.
Castelo said there was no need for the FDA to study vaccines that had been extensively evaluated and authorized to be used on their population by their countries of origin and manufacture such as the United States and Germany.
She said the FDA should act swiftly on the application for “emergency use authorization” or EUA of the vaccine developed by US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German biotech firm BioNTech, which has been rolled out in the US and many parts of Europe and the world, including Saudi Arabia and Singapore.
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine reportedly has an efficacy of 95 percent.
The two companies are reportedly the only vaccine makers that have so far applied for EUA with the FDA. They filed their application last Dec. 23. FDA director general Eric Domingo has said it would take his agency three weeks to a month to assess the application.
COVID updates
The Philippines logged on Tuesday 886 new coronavirus disease 2019 infections, bringing the total to 471,526, as nine laboratories failed to submit data on time, the Department of Health reported.
According to the DOH, Davao City reported the highest number of new cases on Tuesday with 61, followed by Pampanga with 58, Bulacan and Quezon City with 45 each, and Cavite with 37.
The DOH also announced that total recoveries rose to 439,016 after 253 more patients recovered from the illness.
The nationwide death toll climbed to 9,162 with 38 new fatalities.
Meanwhile, there are 23,348 remaining active cases undergoing treatment or quarantine, of which 80 percent are mild, 10.6 percent are asymptomatic, 5.9 percent are in critical condition, 3.1 percent are severe, and 0.44 percent are moderate.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire reminded Filipinos to follow minimum health standards to prevent the expected increase in cases in January due to holiday gatherings.
More than 80.8 million people have been reported to be infected by the COVID-19 globally and 1,766,359 have died.
Lim tests positive
Chairman Danilo Lim of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority announced on his social media account he tested positive for coronavirus disease.
He said: "Since the Enhanced Community Quarantine, your servant has been working regularly because the service provided by the MMDA in Metro Manila cannot be delayed. Our agency is also one of the frontliners in the fight against COVID-19."
"Last night, after a routine swab test, I got the result and I was found positive for COVID-19 despite constant precautions and adherence to health protocols at all times."
Lim asked MMDA personnel, officials and other individuals who met and made contact with him to go on self quarantine for 14 days.
"I will continue to self-isolate for now," he said.
Despite this, Lim said he will continue working remotely and will conduct meetings with MMDA officials via teleconference.
Suspended work
In July, the MMDA work for employees was suspended for two days after four personnel tested positive for coronavirus disease.
All offices at the agency's main building were also subjected to sanitation and disinfection to protect not only its personnel but also the transacting public against the virus.
The MMDA has its own isolation facility to accommodate employees exposed to persons with COVID-19, tested positive on rapid tests, and for those awaiting swab test results.
The 800-sqm isolation facility, at the MMDA’s parking area, has two sections – one for suspect and probable cases.
Since then, the agency required all employees and visitors to wear face masks and shields inside the main office building to further prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease.
Currently, the MMDA has more than 8,000 employees, with almost 80 percent working in the field in various locations in Metro Manila.
