In observance of the Holy Week, the Philippine News Agency’s online news service will be off on March 29, Good Friday, and March 30, Black Saturday. Normal operations will resume on March 31, Easter Sunday.

— The Editors

Novavax inclusion in PH 'mix&match' study depends on procurement

By Ma. Cristina Arayata

November 4, 2021, 6:25 pm

<p>(<em>Anadolu photo</em>)</p>

(Anadolu photo)

MANILA – Once Novavax vaccine against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) gets an emergency use authorization (EUA) in the country, its inclusion in the mix and match study would depend on the supply from the Department of Health (DOH), an official of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said on Thursday.

"If the DOH could supply Covovax in the coming one to three months, it can be included (in the mix and match study)," DOST Undersecretary Rowena Guevara told the Philippine News Agency in an interview.

The supply for this study, she said, comes from the DOH. Thus, vaccines to be included are the ones available during the period allotted for the study.

On Thursday, Faberco Life Sciences Inc. (Faberco), which will be the local distributor of Covovax, announced that it anticipates the vaccine to get an EUA in the next few weeks, as it recently gained nod in Indonesia.

"We welcome this development and look forward to the start of the global rollout of Covovax," Faberco founding member Vinay Panemanglor said in a statement.

Guevara noted that the Philippines does not produce Covid-19 vaccines locally. Hence, a local distributor would still import its supply.

Meanwhile, Guevara said vaccines that apply for an EUA from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are those that have Phase III clinical trial interim results. "This means they have primary data that shows the vaccine is safe and effective," she said.

The Philippines eyes 3,000 individuals to participate in the Covid-19 vaccines mix and match study, which seeks to determine if there would be improvements if different brands of the vaccine were used, or if it would only result in the same efficacy.

The official also clarified that Covovax cannot be included in the World Health Organization (WHO) Solidarity Vaccine Trial, since all the vaccines in this study are those that do not have an EUA yet.

"It is the WHO that chooses which vaccines will be included in the study. Those vaccines are the ones that are starting their Phase 3 clinical trials," she said.

Guevara said there are eight vaccine clinical trials that got the final approval from the FDA. These include the government-funded WHO Solidarity Trials.

Four independent vaccine clinical trials are in the pipeline, and they are in various phases of their application, Guevara said. (PNA) 

 

Comments