Clinical trials for the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine in the Philippines would push through, according to the DOH.
The Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday said that the clinical trials for the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine in the Philippines will push through.
According to the Department of Health, Sinovac’s CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine will be used in a “specific sector” of the Philippine population during its clinical trials in the country.
This, as the Department of Health announced that the late-stage human clinical trials for the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine will push through even as the company was already applying for an emergency use authorization (EUA) in the Philippines.
In an online press briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that the intention why the DOH wanted to continue the late-stage clinical trial of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine in the Philippines even if the company was already applying for an emergency use authorization was because they wanted to try it in a “specific population” so that they can see the effect of vaccine among Asians and the specific population.
However, Vergeire didn’t disclose the sector that they’re eyeing to be tested with the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine.
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Sinovac had conducted Phase 3 clinical trials in China, Turkey, Indonesia, and Brazil with efficacy results ranging from 50.4 percent to 90 percent.
The Philippine government had already secured 25 million CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine doses, with the first 50,000 vaccine doses arriving by February.
However, the actual vaccination using the CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine remained uncertain as Sinovac has yet to secure an emergency use authorization before the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the Philippines.
Aside from Sinovac, Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Clover Biopharmaceuticals would also conduct clinical trials in the country for their respective COVID-19 vaccines.
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