EVEN if we wanted to be immunized by a vaccine proven to be safe and effective, we’ll just have to be content with the China-made vaccines, says presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.
In a statement, Roque also defended the government’s eagerness to secure up to 25 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine, which has yet to prove it is safe and effective.
“Ang dahilan kung bakit kumukuha tayo ng Sinovac kasi sila lamang ang magbibigay ng supply sa lalong mabilis na panahon,” Roque said during a briefing.
“Hindi naman po natin bibilhin ‘yan kung hindi sasabihin ng FDA na ito’y ligtas at ito po ay epektibo.”
To date, vaccines produced by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech have secured emergency use authorization abroad, including from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Singapore, where mass vaccination has already started.
Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez, Jr. on Monday denied that the Philippines was late in securing vaccine supply deals. He added that negotiations are being finalized to get Sinovac vaccines in the country by March, a month earlier than its commitment.
Talks with Pfizer for a January 2021 shipment of 10 million doses of its vaccines have bogged down after the Philippine government failed to comply with its pre-order requirement. However, Galvez said that the Philippines could still possibly secure supplies from Pfizer, but only by the second quarter of 2021 at the earliest.
Food and Drug Administration director general Eric Domingo said Sinovac is one of three vaccine makers who have already inquired about the process for securing emergency use approval in the country.
Sinovac has yet to disclose results of its phase 3 clinical trials, although Philippine Ambassador to China Chito Sta. Romana earlier said it has already been administered to a million people in the mainland, including members of the Chinese army.
Domingo added that the FDA will not approve the emergency use of China-made vaccines if there is not enough safety and efficacy data to back it up.
Earlier, Galvez said it would be easier for the Philippine FDA to approve a vaccine if it has already been given emergency use authorization by US or UK regulators.
Unofficial data also pegged Sinovac’s cost per dose as more expensive than that of other drug makers. However, both Roque and the Budget Department’s Procurement Service have said this was not the biggest consideration now.
“The instruction of the President is very precise, we get the vaccines for the protection of the Filipino people,” said Budget Undersecretary Lloyd Lao. “Whatever is the safest and the most effective and available, that we will get. The cost and the price will be taken care of by the DOF (Department of Finance) …it is secondary.”
In a series of tweets, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro “Teddyboy” Locsin, Jr. claimed that he secured 10 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine from a deal with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for delivery next month, but that somebody “dropped the ball.”
Pfizer’s vaccine is said to be 95% effective in protecting a person from COVID-19 and has no safety concerns.
“Ang problema, gustuhin man natin ng Pfizer, wala naman tayong makuha para sa first quarter,” Roque added.