The FDA approved the emergency use of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in the Philippines
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved the emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in the Philippines.
This, as Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was the first one to be granted emergency use authorization in the country.
FDA Director-General Eric Domingo on Thursday confirmed that the Food and Drug Administration granted the application of American pharmaceutical giant.
An issuance of emergency use authorization (EUA) from the regulators was required for the vaccines to be legally rolled out in the Philippines.
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Pfizer had already secured an EUA approval from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom among other countries and also secured an emergency use listing from the World Health Organization (WHO) after its phase 3 clinical trial showed that it was 95 percent effective in preventing coronavirus infections after a person received two vaccine doses.
The Philippines has not yet formally secured doses of Pfizer vaccines, but vaccine czar Sec.Carlito Galvez Jr. said that the Philippines may receive more or less 40 million doses from Pfizer this year as they continued to finalize negotiations.
Pfizer vaccine doses could also arrive in the Philippines this quarter if the country’s application for an early rollout under the COVAX facility was granted.
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Galvez also said that distribution of Pfizer vaccines may be limited to Cebu City, Davao City, and Metro Manila for now as these urbanized areas could meet the storage requirements.
The national government was also in talks with private companies in order to establish cold storage rooms and walk-in freezers in the country.
Meanwhile, the EUA application of Sputnik V and AstraZeneca vaccines were pending at the Food and Drug Administration.
The Philippine government aimed to inoculate 50 million to 70 million Filipinos this year.
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