The vaccine against African swine fever (ASF) is not for free as the government has no allocated funds yet for its purchase, the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) said on Saturday, June 3.
ASF is a highly contagious and deadly viral disease affecting domestic and feral swine of all ages.
In a radio interview, BAI Assistant Director Arlene Asteria V. Vytiaco said the bureau has yet to request funding and the matter still needs to be discussed.
“I would like to set the record straight hindi po ang gobyerno ang bibili ng bakuna. It is our local vaccine supplier, siya ang bibili ng bakuna ( I would like to set the record straight that the government is not the one that will purchase the vaccine against ASF. It is our local vaccine supplier, it’s them who will buy the vaccine),” said Vytiaco
“Kasi ang gobyerno, as of now, walang fund na allocated for [ASF] vaccine purchase. So if ever, gagawa pa lang po kami ng request. Pag-uusapan pa po iyon ( This is because, the government, as of now, has no fund allocated for ASF vaccine purchase. So if ever, we will have to make a request. And it still has to be discussed),” she added.
The BAI director said the ASF vaccine from Vietnam costs around P400 to P500 per dose.
Vytiaco said the field and safety trial of the ASF vaccine from Vietnam has been completed.
“We have sent a letter of endorsement sa FDA (Food and Drug Administration) to issue ng CPR (Certificate of Product Registration) but 'yung proseso kung kailan ito ma-re-release, nasa FDA po 'yun ( bur the process and when it would be released is up to the FDA),” she said.
BAI is hoping that the CPR for the ASF vaccine to be released within the month.
According to Vytiaco, Vietnam has allocated 600,000 ASF vaccines to the Philippines for this year.
“For the following years, mayroon naman silang bagong allocations for the Philippines (they will have new allocations for the Philippines),” she added.
The BAI, according to Vytiaco, will create vaccination guidelines for the distribution of the ASF vaccines in the country.
Citing the data of the bureau, the BAI director said the Philippines has eight regions, 12 provinces, and 32 municipalities with active cases of ASF.