The Philippine government’s effort to procure COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) vaccines from China is moving with “positive progress,” the Chinese Embassy in Manila confirmed on Thursday night.
At the virtual Christmas party hosted by the Chinese Embassy, Ambassador Huang Xilian said he is happy to see that the cooperation on vaccines could contribute to the fight against COVID-19 in the Philippines at an “early date.”
“China is willing to work with the Philippines to fight the pandemic and help the Philippine economy and society return to normal as soon as possible,” Huang
Aside from the Chinese vaccines, the Philippine government is also eyeing the procurement of western-produced vaccines from giant pharmaceuticals Astra Zeneca and Moderna.
Huang noted that at least five Chinese vaccines from developers Sinopharm, Sinovac, CanSino, and Anhui Zhifei have now entered phase III of the clinical trial stage.
There are now more than 60,000 volunteers world-wide who have been vaccinated with the Chinese vaccines without any serious adverse reactions, showcasing excellent safety and efficacy of the vaccines, according to Huang.
The envoy pointed out that clinical trials of Chinese vaccines are being carried out in several countries such as the UAE, Brazil, Indonesia, Peru, Argentina, Pakistan, among others, with vaccination population samples covering 125 nationalities.
“It is worth mentioning that about 1,500 Filipinos participated in the III phase of clinical trials of the Sinopharm vaccine in the UAE,” Huang said.