Duterte can get Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine as 2nd dose if Sinopharm fails to secure approval — expert

President Rodrigo Duterte may get Sinovac’s CoronaVac as his second COVID-19 vaccine dose if Sinopharm fails to secure regulatory approval in the Philippines, a vaccine expert said Thursday.

Dr. Rontgene Solante of the Vaccine Expert Panel (VEP) said this is possible since the two China-made vaccines use the same platform.

“‘Yung second dose, puwede niyang ipahabol ang (For the second dose, he can still get) Sinopharm but Sinopharm has to produce the data and submit it to VEP and FDA,” Solante said during a Health Department forum.

“Kung halimbawa hindi na puwede ang Sinopharm, meron namang isang bakuna na magkahawig sa Sinopharm na nabigyan na rin ng approval natin, ‘yung Sinovac (If for example Sinopharm is not approved, there is another similar vaccine that has been given approval: Sinovac),” he added.

Only Sinovac has been approved for emergency use in the country. Despite this, Duterte got inoculated with a Sinopharm jab that was only covered by a compassionate special permit. 

After he was informed that the Sinopharm vaccine has yet to undergo review by local experts, Duterte sought the withdrawal of all doses of the Chinese vaccine and apologized for getting the jab.

“‘Yung Sinopharm, walang sinu-submit na document ‘to sa VEP para ma-assess namin. Kung meron lang sana noon bago nagpabakuna ‘yung presidente, pwede naman naming i-review tapos we can also give our recommendation to the FDA,” Solante said.

(Sinopharm has not submitted documents for the VEP to assess. If only they had done that before the President got vaccinated, we could have reviewed their vaccine then we can also give our recommendation to the FDA.)

The Food and Drug Administration said there is still no pending application for emergency use authorization (EUA) of Sinopharm’s vaccine because none of the three firms that expressed intent to apply have submitted the required documents. 

“We also stand by our policy na as long as hindi pa ‘yan EUA, dapat hindi ibabakuna (as long as it has not been issued an EUA, it must not be used),” Solante said.

Mixing vaccine brands

VEP head Dr. Nina Gloriani earlier said they were looking into the possibility of mixing different COVID-19 vaccine brands as the country grapples with a supply shortage. 

Another Filipino vaccine expert said this is a common practice that is not harmful. 

In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention encourages sticking to one vaccine brand for both doses.

However, it said both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna shots, which use the same vaccine platform, can be administered to the same individual “in exceptional situations” with at least a 28-day interval.

Solante said the same four-week interval must be observed if the Sinovac and Sinopharm jabs will be mixed.

The Department of Health has not yet formally recommended mixing COVID-19 vaccines. 

Over 1.7 million individuals in the Philippines have gotten a Sinovac, AstraZeneca, or Sputnik V dose as of May 4, still far off from the government’s target of vaccinating 50 to 70 million people this year.  — RSJ, GMA News