The Department of Health (DOH) will file an emergency use authorization (EUA) application for the Chinese COVID-19 vaccine Sinopharm.
In a briefing on Monday (May 10), DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said they are only waiting to receive Sinopharm’s documents from the World Health Organization (WHO) before applying for an EUA.
She added that they are also coordinating with the Department of Finance regarding the matter.
“We were already instructed to process and facilitate the application for the EUA of Sinopharm. So ito po ay inaayos na natin ngayon, kailangan lang nating makuha ‘yung mga dokumento, the dossier of Sinopharm so that we can complete the process of applying for this EUA,” she said.
The WHO approved the emergency use of Sinopharm on May 7. With this, the vaccine can now be included in WHO’s Covax facility that provides free vaccines to the Philippines.
The WHO’s approval of Sinopharm will hasten the process of its EUA application.
Report from Mark Fetalco/NGS-jlo
