COVID-19 vaccine may be available in the Philippines by Q1 of 2021, according to FDA chief.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) director-general Eric Domingo on Thursday said that a COVID-19 vaccine may be available in the Philippines in Q1 of 2021.
This, as Domingo made the projection at a Palace briefing a day after UK officially approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use.
According to Domingo, there’s information that the Food and Drug Administration in the United States (US FDA) was also gearing towards the issuance of emergency use authorization (EUA) for the COVID-19 vaccine of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.
“Kapag nag-apply po sila sa ating maaring by first few weeks of January mayroon na rin tayong maibigay naemergency use authorization. Baka maapaga nang kaunti, baka magkaroon ng chance na mga March magkaroon na ng bakuna sa Pilipinas,” Domingo said.
READ ALSO: Pfizer CEO Confident COVID-19 Vaccine Supply Would Exceed Needs By End Of 2021
Earlier in the day, Dr. Jaime Montoya of the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) said that the FDA approval of a drug or vaccine could be expected in “40 days or less” now that it’s allowed to issue an emergency use authorization (EUA).
Montoya told Super Radyo dzBB that if there’s an emergency use authorization, according to the Food and Drug Administration, it could be 40 days or less depending on how complete the documents were submitted by the developer.
In addition, Montoya said that the process would also be faster for drugs or vaccines that had been given an emergency use authorization in other countries.
READ ALSO: President Duterte Allows FDA to Grant Emergency Use of COVID-19 Vaccines
Malacañang on Wednesday announced that President Rodrigo Duterte, through Executive Order 121, had allowed the Food and Drug Administration to issue an emergency use authorization for COVID-19 drugs and vaccines.
The Philippines was also considering to acquire COVID-19 vaccines developed by the United States, Russia, China, and the United Kingdom with the government assuring that the country’s vaccination program was still on track to be implemented by 2021.
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