FDA to decide soon on use of Sinovac jab for kids, adolescents

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will decide “in one to two weeks” on the use of Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine on children and adolescents, Director General Eric Domingo said Wednesday.

In an interview on Super Radyo dzBB, Domingo said vaccine experts are still clarifying certain matters with the Chinese drugmaker in connection with its application to revise the emergency use authorization issued for its COVID-19 vaccine. 

Currently, the Sinovac jab is only approved for use on individuals aged 18 and above. 

“‘Yung sa Sinovac, ‘yung application nila is 3 years old and above so ito po ‘yung tinitingnan pa ng mga vaccine experts natin and tingin po natin, siguro in one to two weeks magkakaroon na tayo ng decision doon sa evaluation,” he said.

(Sinovac’s application is for 3 years and above so that is what our vaccine experts are looking at now. Maybe in one to two weeks, we will reach a decision on the evaluation.)

“Masinsinan lang naman na due diligence kasi hindi naman sa atin ginawa ‘yung study, pagkatapos, meron tayong tinatawag na stringent regulatory authority,” he added.

(We’re conducting thorough due diligence since the study was not held here and we also have a stringent regulatory authority.)

Domingo reiterated, however, that children and adolescents are not yet a priority in the country’s inoculation campaign due to the scarce vaccine supply. 

He explained that the vaccination program is targeting the elderly and persons with comorbidities since children are at lowest risk for severe illness or death from COVID-19.

“Eventually, darating din naman tayo doon basta 'yung supplies natin maging sapat na (We’ll get there once supplies are enough) for everybody,” Domingo assured.

In China, the Sinovac vaccine received approval for use on children and adolescents last month. — Julia Mari Ornedo/RSJ, GMA News