Malacañang is pleased with the recommendation of a panel of health experts to allow senior citizens to receive the vaccine developed by China's Sinovac Biotech.
According to Presidential spokesman Harry Roque, the vaccine expert panel made the recommendation on the use of CoronaVac for the elderly to the Food and Drug Authority (FDA).
"We confirm that the Vaccine Expert Panel (VEP) has recommended the use of Sinovac vaccine for the elderly/senior citizens," Roque said in a statement Wednesday, April 7.
"The VEP thoroughly discussed the matter amid the current vaccine supply in the country and we hope that this would respond/address the present demand of vaccines," he added.
Last February, FDA granted the application of Sinovac for the emergency use of the CoronaVac vaccines in the country. In the decision, the FDA ruled that the product was suitable for clinically healthy people aged 18 to 59 years. It was however not recommended for use on healthcare workers with exposure to patients with the coronavirus disease due to varying efficacy rates in clinical trials.
The Palace later bared that President Duterte was "perplexed" after the FDA advised against the use of the Sinovac vaccine on health workers. Duterte even asked FDA chief Rolando Enrique Domingo to explain such “colatilla” on the Sinovac vaccine even though the World Health Organization laid down the 50 percent minimum threshold of vaccine efficacy.
Despite the arrival of the Sinovac vaccines in the country, the President has passed up the chance to get vaccinated with it and decided to wait for the arrival of another Chinese-developed brand Sinopharm. Duterte, 76, said his doctor advised him on the vaccine brand suitable for his age.
Towards the end of February, the government task force in charge of addressing the pandemic approved the recommendation to use Sinovac vaccines for health workers. The recommendation was made by National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG) and Department of Health-Technical Advisory Group (TAG).
The Sinovac vaccines are among the first batch of supply that arrived in the country, that allowed the government to start the vaccination drive early March. China donated one million doses of Sinovac vaccines while the Philippine government bought another million doses.
The other brand of vaccines currently available in the country is the British-made AstraZeneca. Over 500,000 doses have been delivered to the country by the World Health Organization-led COVAX facility.