India institute COVID-19 vaccine only needs standard cold system

The Serum Institute of India (SII) on Friday said its coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine has a product profile that will allow it to be distributed using the standard cold chain system for vaccines in the Philippines.

According to the SII, the NVX?CoV2373 it is developing with US biotech Novovax will allow handling “in an unfrozen, liquid formulation that can be stored at 2°C to 8°C.”

“For tropical countries like the Philippines, the storage requirement of the Novavax vaccine that doesn’t require extreme cold is an edge,” Dr. Luningning Villa, Faberco Life sciences Inc. medical director, said in a statement.

American firm Moderna's vaccine can also be stored under standard refrigerator temperatures of 2°C to 8°C for 30 days and it can be stored for up to 6 months at -20°C.

Meanwhile, Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine, another American firm, requires ultracold storage of -70°C to -80°C. This makes its distribution challenging for countries with a tropical climate and limited storage resources such as the Philippines.

On Wednesday, Senator Pia Cayetano said that the Department of Health’s (DOH) proposed P212.7-billion budget for 2021 does not cover the cost of the storage and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.

When sought for clarification, the Department of Budget and Management said that the DOH “still has to determine the costing particularly for the storage facilities.”

Health Undersecretary Carol Taiño previously said the warehousing allocation under the 2021 budget was not intended specifically for the COVID-19 vaccine.

However, the DOH previously said that it is eyeing to establish cold storage facilities in every province in the country to ensure the effectiveness of the vaccine.

Meanwhile, Up to 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses could be made available in poorer countries under a deal with SII.

So far, the Food and Drugs Administration said that manufacturers of at least five potential COVID-19 vaccine products have expressed interest in conducting clinical trials in the Philippines. — DVM, GMA News