The Philippines is in the "last mile" of preparations for the World Health Organization Solidarity Vaccine Trial (WHO SVT), a top official of the Department of Science and Technology- Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD) said on Thursday, May 20.
DOST-PCHRD Executive Director Dr. Jaime C. Montoya said the WHO SVT has yet to start in the country, but the country’s preparations for the conduct of the vaccine trials shifted to high gear.
"Well sa ngayon, hindi pa nagsisimula yung WHO Solidarity Vaccine Trial pero tayo po ay kumbaga nasa last mile na sa paghahanda (Well so far, the WHO Solidarity Vaccine Trial has not started yet but it seems we are in the last mile of preparation),” he said during the televised Laging Handa public briefing.
He said the materials needed for the conduct of the vaccine trials were being finalized and the recruitment of personnel who will be involved in SVT “is ongoing.”
“Nakikipagmeet po tayo sa headquarters ng WHO sa Geneva para po doon sa pagdadala dito ng mga kagamitan at sa mga training na isasagawa para sa ating healthcare workers na kasama po sa pagsasagawa ng mga trial na ito pati po ang pagre-recruit ng mga personnel na kalahok po at sasama dito sa Solidarity Vaccine Trial ay isinasagawa na rin po ngayon (We are meeting with the of WHO headquarters in Geneva regarding the delivery of equipment here and the trainings that will be conducted for our healthcare workers who are involved in the conduct of these trials and the recruitment of personnel who will participate in the Solidarity Vaccine Trial is also ongoing now),” Montoya said.
Funded by the government, the SVT will definitely benefit the country, as it is expected to generate “local data” that will serve as a basis to determine the most effective and safe vaccines for Filipinos, he said.
“So aalamin na din po natin base sa clinical trials na gagawin dito kung ano po ang magiging listahan ng bakuna na puwede talaga nating bilhin sa susunod na taon dahil lahat ng bakuna na ginagamit ngayon ay base lang po sa emergency use authorization,so yung mga datos na makukuha natin sa mga local clinical trials ay makakatulong para hindi lang bigyan ng EUA pati rin po ang mga bagong bakuna ay makakuha ng kumpletong datos para maging basehan pag nagapply sila ng certificate of product registration at sa gayon ay maipagbili na sa merkado (So we will also find out, based on the clinical trials that will be conducted here, what will be the list of vaccines that we can actually buy next year because all vaccines that are used now are only based on emergency use authorization, so the data that we can get from local clinical trials will help not only in securing EUA but also the new vaccines will get complete data that will serve as the basis when they apply for a certificate of product registration and thus, it will be sold in the market),” the DOST official said.
During the virtual town hall meeting organized by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) on the “COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment” on March 17, Montoya said 21 areas, mostly in Manila and Quezon City have been identified as sites for the SVT.
Based on the documents presented by Montoya, seven areas in Manila City and six areas in Quezon City have been identified as WHO SVT sites. Some areas in Pasay City, San Juan City, Paranaque City and Taguig City have also been selected as vaccine trial sites.
Montoya noted that the Philippines will participate in the WHO SVT as approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) through its Resolution No. 47.
He said the primary goal of the SVT is "to evaluate promptly, efficiently, and reliably the safety and efficacy of candidate vaccine/s.”