Choosing brand of COVID-19 vaccine not on option for Philippine health workers

The country's health workers will not have the luxury of choosing the brand of COVID-19 vaccine for their inoculation as there are still not enough to go around, the Department of Health said on Thursday.

DOH spokesperson Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire made the remark amid persistent questions on the government’s purchase 25 million doses from Chinese firm Sinovac even if its efficacy rate was lower compared to Western counterparts.

“On the question on if we can choose which vaccine to have… it is not an option right now kasi alam naman po natin na limitado po ang ating supplies. Iyong galing sa COVAX, hindi po ito karamihan,” Vergeire said in an interview on ANC.

COVAX is the global collaboration of manufacturers and experts to accelerate the development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines.

COVAX's vaccine portfolio includes Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca.

“Iyong commitment po ng COVAX na initial doses [na parating sa first quarter], these will not comprise their entire commitment of supplying vaccines for 20% of the population kaya iyong ibang [COVID-19 vaccine brand] na nariyan na, na willing na to give us now, iyon ang maibibigay natin sa ating health workers. Hindi magkakaroon ng chance na makapili sila,” Vergeire said.

Aside from limited COVID-19 vaccine supply, Vergeire said that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines can only be administered in limited areas such as Metro Manila, cities of Cebu and Davao, as well as some parts of Regions 3 (Central Luzon) and 4A (Calabarzon) since these are the only areas equipped with ultra low freezer facilities needed to store Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines.

Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines require -70 to -80 degrees celsius storage.

Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez, Jr. earlier said that COVID-19 vaccines of Pfizer-BioNTech, China’s Sinovac and AstraZeneca are expected to arrive in the country during the first quarter of the year for the vaccination of the health care workers.

Pfizer-BioNTech and AztraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccines have been proven at least 95% and 90% effective after human trials, respectively.

Sinovac, on the other hand, yielded varying efficacy rates after human trials, depending on the location of such clinical trials.

Its efficacy rate reached 50% in Brazil, 65% in Indonesia and 91% in Turkey.

The Philippines’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) already granted emergency use authorization (EUA) to Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, saying that such vaccine showed 95% efficacy rate in the study population and 92% efficacy rate among all racial groups.

Prior to the Philippine FDA’s stamp of approval on Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, it previously secured EUA in the United Kingdom, United States, Singapore, Canada, among others. -NB, GMA News