The Philippines will conduct a yearlong surveillance program on fully vaccinated Filipino adults to estimate the effectiveness of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines that were granted emergency use authorization (EUA) in the country.
DOST Secretary Fortunato “Boy” T. de la Peña said the project has been approved with a budget of P 114.9 million.
He said the University of Philippines (UP)-Manila under the leadership of Dr. Regina Berba will spearhead the program.
"The study is expected to determine the duration of protection of the EUA-approved COVID-19 vaccines as well as the possible factors affecting vaccine effectiveness,” de la Peña said during his weekly report on Friday, May 21.
The Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (PSMID), local government units (LGUs), and the Department of Health will also be part of the 12-month surveillance program on fully vaccinated adults via antibody testing.
The DOST chief said the study will be supported by his agency and the DOH.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has so far issued EUA to COVID-19 vaccine developed by American drug firm Moderna, American drugmaker Pfizer, United Kingdom-based AstraZeneca, China's Sinovac, Russia's Gamaleya Research Institute, India's Bharat Biotech, and US-based firm Johnson & Johnson.
On Wednesday, May 19, the Department of Health (DOH) reported that 786,528 Filipinos have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, while 2,512,942 received their first dose.
https://mb.com.ph/2021/05/19/doh-over-700k-people-fully-vaccinated-vs-covid-19/