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MANILA, Philippines – Lawmakers have allocated P72.5 billion in funding as the government plans to inoculate 24 million against the novel coronavirus in 2021. But as the health crisis landscape continues to unfold, concern grows that the Philippines may be behind in securing supplies.
A global tracker has estimated that 9.6 billion doses have already been booked, of which 3.9 billion will go to high-income countries, even if the vaccine is not yet on the market.
At home, vaccine czar Carlito Gálvez Jr. has said that 80% of vaccines have been taken by rich countries. The Philippine government is expected to sign most of the acquisition agreements in January, or about a year from the first confirmed case in the Philippines.
Officials have repeatedly denied that the administration has been late in seeking access to the vaccines. Talks with drug makers began in August and President Rodrigo Duterte approved prepayment for vaccines for November.
He had previously rejected the idea, saying developers in the West were trying to make a profit by asking for upfront payment.
Gálvez has said that they saw the urgency and that the country “is not in the queue”, since he repeated that the hiring laws are restrictive.
“His orientation is to look for ways that we are there, we are ahead of the deployment. It is really very difficult … because RA 9184 does not allow an advance commitment and only with the approval of the president,” he said.
How close are we to receiving vaccines?
The world is ending the tumultuous year in a pandemic with significant progress in potential coronavirus vaccine candidates. And with it comes the race for countries, including the Philippines, to ensure sufficient doses for its people. But what exactly has been our progress?
As of December 15, these are some of the candidate vaccines that could arrive in the Philippines by 2021.
AstraZeneca
The country obtained 2.6 million doses from the British-Swedish drugmaker in late November and is expected to arrive in the middle of next year.
This agreement was sealed thanks to the efforts of the private sector, since the companies contributed 600 million pesos to buy them. With an average efficacy of 70%, the vaccine costs $ 10 or P500 for two doses and would be donated to the government for distribution by the health department.
The private sector purchase is separate from the 20 million doses that the government seeks to buy from the same pharmaceutical company with public funds.
AstraZeneca withdrew last week from joining clinical trials in the Philippines as it said it now has enough data on the vaccine.
This leaves Sinovac Biotech ltd., Sichuan Clover Biopharmaceuticals, Gamaleya Research Center and Johnson and Johnson’s Janssen in the process of obtaining approvals for clinical trials in the country.
Sinovac
The vaccine developed in China has been in the spotlight in recent days, as a public health expert expressed concern that the government is getting 25 million doses despite being the second most expensive among candidates and women. doubts about safety.
In two doses, Sinovac is estimated at P3,600 based on rough estimates reported by Senator Sonny Angara, chairman of the Senate finance committee, in deliberations on the proposed 2021 national budget.
Malacañang has since defended this, saying it is the only option that could reach the country in the first quarter of 2021.
The drugmaker has also not escaped controversy, as allegations have emerged that Sinovac’s chief executive officer bribed Chinese regulators to speed up the approval of its vaccines against SARS in 2003 and swine flu in 2009. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, has said that they are aware of the report and that they will look at the claims.
Sinovac is also among those seeking approval from authorities to conduct a clinical trial seen here in late December or early January 2021 after passing technical review.
Gamaleya
Russia’s Sputnik V was the first in the world to gain approval from its own country in August, and the Gamaleya Research Institute claimed 95% efficacy based on another interim analysis of data from its clinical trials.
Gálvez has said that Sputnik V could also be in the country by the first quarter of 2021, but that there may be “more confidence” in China’s Sinovac, as other countries have already received their doses.
In a December 4 update, Dr. Nina Gloriani, who heads DOST’s panel of vaccine experts, said Gamaleya’s approval has been deferred as she has not yet provided the necessary additional documents.
“We want the provisional scientific data,” he said. “We cannot trust what they posted on the Internet.”
Clover
Sichuan Clover Biopharmaceuticals blocked the Vaccine Expert Panel’s review on Nov. 24, nearly a month since it submitted its application in late October. Their application has since been submitted to the Food and Drug Administration, and trials are anticipated to begin in early 2021, if not before the end of the year.
“It should only take us two weeks (VEP) eh because there are so many questions that the clock ticks,” said Dr. Nina Gloriani of the government VEP, said, “but the FDA should be able to act in two or three weeks.”
Sichuan Colver is the second Chinese drug manufacturer to apply for approval for clinical trials in the Philippines. The vaccine comes in two doses, but authorities have not yet revealed its price.
Janssen
Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Pharmaceutica, led by Belgium, obtained VEP approval on December 11, bringing it closer to the possibility of conducting clinical trials in the country.
Unlike others, the vaccine is only given as a single dose. In October, the developers momentarily halted their Phase 3 trial in the US after an “unexplained illness” in one of their participants.
Janssen announced on October 23 that it would resume those trials after reporting that no clear cause emerged from its assessment of the incident. “Based on information collected to date and input from independent experts, the company has found no evidence that the candidate vaccine caused the event,” it said in a statement.
Pfizer
Health officials have said that the US pharmaceutical company will not conduct trials in the Philippines, as the company said they are “very advanced” in their Phase 3 stage.
Undersecretary María Rosario Vergeire said most of the conversations with Pfizer had focused on the advance order of its possible vaccines.
Manila envoy to Washington, José Manuel Romualdez, said last month that US vaccines could reach the Philippines in early 2021 “at the latest,” while Angara also reported that the cost to Pfizer is P2 , 400 for the two doses required per individual. , with an efficiency rate of 90%.
The US FDA has allowed emergency use of the Pfizer vaccine in the US, which has the highest number of infections with more than 16.6 million and deaths of more than 300,000.
Modern
This vaccine made in the USA is not applying for clinical trials in the Philippines.
It is 94% effective and is taken in two doses. With a price range of P3,900 to P4,500, it is the most expensive vaccine the country has been considering thus far.
Health officials have said the drug maker is willing to provide dosages here, but likely only for the second quarter of 2021.
Moderna is expected to be approved for emergency use in the United States, as officials report that the vaccine is “highly effective.”
Novavax
Another possible COVID-19 vaccine from the US could reach the Philippines through a local collaboration for distribution.
Faberco Life Sciences Inc., a partner at the Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd., said in November that it was waiting to contact the government to establish a partnership.
Luningning Villa, Faberco’s medical director, said that IBS intends to produce more than 1 billion doses of Novavax, which is being evaluated in different countries.
Senator Angara’s figures showed that Novavax could be the cheapest vaccine with just P366 in two doses and could cover the country’s population of more than 108 million.
However, you have yet to apply for clinical trials in the Philippines.
Sinopharm
In October, the Chinese pharmaceutical company withdrew from its application to conduct clinical trials in the Philippines.
Science and Technology Secretary Fortunato dela Peña, announcing the development, said Sinopharm had “changed its mind” but has said they are still interested in deploying supplies.
Officials in the United Arab Emirates this month approved the use of the Chinese firm’s COVID-19 vaccine, saying it was 86% effective. The vaccine, which comes in two doses, has been in Phase 3 trials in the UAE since July and secured emergency use for medical workers in September.
Vaccine transparency
Aside from questions about getting doses, concerns still hang among senators about the overall vaccination program, and the chamber agreed to meet as a Committee of the Whole to investigate the matter.
“The fact that senators are not aware of the action plan does not bode well for transparency and accountability in launching the vaccine,” said Senator Francis Pangilinan. “Transparency in the process is key for the public to trust a deployment and without the public’s trust, a program of this magnitude will not be successful.”
A SWS poll in November showed that 66% of Filipinos were willing to get vaccinated against COVID-19, while 31% said they were not. Vaccination efforts in the country in recent years have been strained in large part due to fears of a failed dengue vaccination program in 2017, despite no established links of deaths resulting from Dengvaxia inoculation. .
RELATED: Dengvaxia scandal stalks COVID-19 vaccine fever in the Philippines
Health Secretary Duque has promised to increase public confidence in the alleged COVID-19 vaccines, but Representative Janette Garin (Iloilo), who was secretary of health when the Dengvaxia program took place, chided him for not correcting false information. about the vaccine.
“It keeps talking about improving the confidence of the vaccine while at the same time not directly correcting the incorrect information that the dengue vaccine kills,” Garin, who faces criticism for the Dengvaxia disaster, said in a statement. “By having conflicting statements, Duque has been a huge contributor to our declining confidence in vaccines.”
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