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Manila Bulletin devider Opinion devider PH in final testing for Russian vaccine

PH in final testing for Russian vaccine

Published Aug 13, 2020 10:36 pm

President Duterte  welcomed  last Tuesday Russia’s  offer  of its anti-COVID -19 vaccine which it plans to start administering to its teachers and health care workers  in October.  Since all other vaccines now under  development  in various other countries  won’t  be  ready until December  or  later, the Russian vaccine  would  be the first.

But, it must be pointed out, the Russian vaccine, while it  has been   granted government  regulatory approval, still  has to complete  final  testing.  Vaccines normally undergo  five phases in their  development –  a pre-clinical testing  using animals to see if it produces an immune response,   Phase  1 Safety Trials using a  small number  of  people,   Phase 2 Expanded Trials  using hundreds of people,     Phase 3  Efficacy Trials  using  thousands of people  in which it must prove effective in at least 50 percent, and  final approval  by government regulators.

Russia’s  vaccine  has completed  its Phase 2 Expanded Trials.  A Reuters report Wednesday said  Phase 3 trials will start   soon in the United Arab Emirates and the Philippines.  We are,  therefore,  part of the final  testing.   Which is why the President  said  he would be the first  to take a vaccine shot  to show that he trusts their studies and to make sure it is safe for Filipinos.

”Ako ang  unang  magpapabakuna in public….  Ako ang unang ma-experimentuhan….  Tingnan  natin,  kung pwede  sa akin,  pwede sa lahat,” he said.  The President  expressed readiness  to  assist  Russia in the clinical trials as well as in the production of the vaccine.

   The Russian vaccine is one of six vaccines leading a total of  125 being  developed  by researchers around  the world.  The other leading ones  are a United Kingdom vaccine being developed by Oxford University  and AstraZeneca, a vaccine  by Pfizer  of the United States and Germany’s BioNTech,  Novavax, also  of the US,  and a vaccine of CanSino Biologics  now undergoing Phase 3 trials in China. Undergoing Phase 1 trials are Italy’s  ReiThera,  Taiwan’s Medigen,  and India’s Zydus Cadila.

Until  an effective  vaccine   is available to the world, the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to threaten humanity.   Once China is ready with its vaccine, we are assured   that we will be among the first to get it. We are similarly assured  that  Russia will share its vaccine with us.  In fact, we are now part of the final trials before its final approval for release to the world.

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Roni Santiago
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