[ad_1]
MANILA, Philippines – The World Health Organization (WHO) “solidarity trials” for potential vaccines against coronavirus disease may begin in the Philippines in the last week of October, Undersecretary of Health Maria Rosario Vergeire said Friday.
Information from the Department of Health (DOH) showed that WHO will identify the vaccines to be included in the trials before the third or fourth week of September and then identify the sites where the trials will take place at the end of September.
“We are looking at the third or fourth week of October to start, because first on the pilot site and then all the sites that were identified are already included, so we are looking from the third to the fourth week of October for this,” he said. Vergeire to the press. when asked about the schedule for solidarity trials.
(We are considering the third or fourth week of October for the start of the tests. It will take place first at a pilot site and then at the remaining sites that were identified, so we are looking to have these tests in the third or fourth week October.)
Vergeire said the dates were released during a meeting of the country’s sub-technical working group for vaccines, where WHO provided details on the timing of the trials.
However, he noted that the dates could still be subject to change due to possible “intervening factors.”
The WHO has yet to decide which of the 34 vaccines will be included in this initiative, according to Vergeire.
The government has already identified eight areas for vaccine trials, consisting of six in Metro Manila and one in Calabarzon and Cebu, according to the Secretary of Science and Technology, Fortunato dela Peña.
Meanwhile, Vergeire said the country’s panel of vaccine experts has already reviewed and commented on the papers submitted by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology that developed Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine.
He said the panel is now awaiting the institute’s response to its comments.
“As for the other vaccines, everything is in negotiation,” added Vergeire.
KGA
For more news on the new coronavirus, click here.
What you need to know about the coronavirus.
For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.
The Inquirer Foundation supports our leaders in healthcare and still accepts cash donations to be deposited into the Banco de Oro (BDO) checking account # 007960018860 or donate through PayMaya using this link .
Read next
EDITOR’S SELECTION
MOST READ
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer and more than 70 other titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download from 4am and share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
For comments, complaints or inquiries, please contact us.
[ad_2]
