The Philippines still intended to use Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine despite Brazil ban, according to DOH.
The Department of Health (DOH) said that the Philippines still intended to use Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine arriving in the country this Saturday.
This, even after Brazil stopped its import because the said vaccine supposedly carried a live cold virus.
DOH spokesperson Ma. Rosario Vergeire said in a televised briefing that the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) evaluation showed that Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine was safe for public use.
In a report on Inquirer, Brazil’s drug regulator decided to stop the import of the said vaccine on the basis that batches they tested carried a live version of a common cold-causing virus.
Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute, which developed the said vaccine, has denied such reports.
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Inquirer also reported that Gamaleya Research Institute has the responsibility to submit new findings if there’s any, but Vergeire said that it has yet to provide additional documents that will merit reevaluation from the Food and Drug Administration.
“Sa ngayon po, wala pa naman po tayong natatanggap na ganito. At saka iyang pinalabas po sa Brazil, dito po is based on their evaluation and these are just initial conclusions. Sa ngayon, yan po yung mga initial na sinasabi ng mga regulatory authority sa ibang bansa, kailangan po pag-aralan lang. But tuloy pa rin po ang ating pagbabakuna, yun pong mga Sputnik V doses ay darating ngayong hapon,” Vergeire said.
Some 15,000 Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine doses were expected to arrive in the Philippines this Saturday afternoon. The said vaccine was supposed to arrive in the Philippines last April 28, but was delayed because of logistical concerns.
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