The Alyansa ng mga Grupong Haligi ng Agham at Teknolohiya Para sa Mamamayan (AGHAM) has described government pronouncements on the intention to locally produce vaccines as "long overdue".
"It’s long overdue. I hope our government technocrats are now serious in prioritizing R&D (research and development) in medicine," Angelo Palmones, president of the science-inclined consumer advocacy group, said on Friday, March 19.
Palmones made the remark after National Task Force Against COVID-19 chief implementer Carlito Galvez said Wednesday, March 18, that he was in talks with the Serum Institute of India, which has offered to help the Philippines produce its own anti-coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines.
Last week, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque also mentioned that the country "needs to think about its own capability to produce its own COVID vaccine".
The Philippines began its mass inoculation campaign against COVID-19 last March 1, with all the vaccines coming from either donations or government procurement from other countries.
Should the plan come to fruition, Palmones said that the local pharmaceutical industry "would provide vast opportunities for the next generations of Filipinos, especially in vaccine development for human and livestock."
"CHED (Commission on Higher Education) now must offer programs on BS (Bachelor of Science) Pharmacology," noted the AGHAM president.
Aside from COVID-19, the African Swine Fever (ASF) has also ravaged the Philippines in recent months, particularly its hog industry. There is currently no vaccine for ASF, leaving mass slaughter of hogs or culling as the only option once the disease is detected.