The American pharmaceutical company Pfizer submitted an application for emergency use authorization (EUA) for their developed vaccine against the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) to the Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
According to FDA Director General Eric Domingo, the preliminary evaluation for the Pfizer vaccine may be completed within 2 weeks. Through the EUA, the process of approving the vaccine will be shortened as long as adequate evidence of its efficacy is presented.
Pfizer has already obtained an EUA from the United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK).
FDA Dir. Gen. Domingo also announced that the agency has approved the application for clinical trial in the country of Janssen vaccine from Belgium.
“The next step now is for the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) vaccine expert panel to assign an area where the trial will take place then start recruiting subjects for the clinical trial,” he disclosed.
Meanwhile, the FDA bared that the Sinopharm vaccine from China that is said to have been used on several Filipino soldiers and members of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) have not applied for clinical trials in the Philippines, but it is included in the list of the DOST expert panel.
The FDA further disclosed that the alleged vaccination of the said individuals have not been consulted with the agency or the Department of Health (DOH). While the FDA reiterated that it is illegal under the law to import, sell, distribute, and administer unregistered vaccines, it does not see any violation on the side of those who were vaccinated. – Report from Bea Bernardo
