The Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved on Nov. 17 the country's coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine mix-and-match trials, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) announced Friday, Nov. 19.
In a Laging Handa briefing, DOST Undersecretary Rowena Guevara said the agency has begun screening its participants for the mix-and-match trials of difference COVID-19 vaccines.
"Our regulatory review of the mix-and-match has finally been finished and the application has been approved by the FDA on Nov. 16. The trial has also started screening participants the next day in their trial site in Marikina City," Guevara said in Filipino.
"Health workers who will receive COVID-19 boosters will not affect our mix-and-match study," she added.
Guevara said the trial will help the country collect more data on the mix-and-match vaccines, especially since most of the studies conducted in other countries have not been done on Sinovac in combination with other vaccines.
The trial needs 3,000 volunteers who have not been vaccinated.