MANILA, Philippines — A vaccine against coronavirus disease may be available in the country by the second quarter of 2021, the Department of Science and Technology said Wednesday.
“If we are talking about the availability en masse, we believe this is going to be happening in the second quarter of next year,” Dr. Rowena Guevara, DOST undersecretary for research and development, said.
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Guevara, who also chairs the sub-technical working group on vaccine development, said clinical trials of a coronavirus vaccine will take place in the country during the fourth quarter of 2020.
The Philippines is in talks with 16 pharmaceutical companies that are developing coronavirus vaccines worldwide.
Last week, Malacañang said the Philippines was scheduled to start the clinical trials for 'Sputnik V', Russia’s coronavirus vaccine, in October. If the trials are successful, the vaccine may be registered with the country’s Food and Drug Administration by April next year.
Dr. Nina Gloriani, head of the country’s vaccine expert panel, said they have yet to receive the vaccine’s dossier or case history.
"We received their information, the synopsis. But we require the complete technical dossier to be submitted to [Food and Drug Administration]. Until that happens, we cannot fully evaluate their product. FDA has a strict requirement about that," Gloriani said.
The World Health Organization urged countries to focus on improving their response to slow the spread of COVID-19 instead waiting for a vaccine to be developed and distributed.
“I think what is important is that we continue to improve our response and not just hope for the vaccine,” Dr. Takeshi Kasai, WHO Western Pacific regional director, said.
Confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country reached 173,774 on Wednesday. — Gaea Katreena Cabico