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DOH, WHO looking at small suppliers to address dwindling supply of anti-rabies vaccine
Health officials are looking at small vaccine suppliers in addressing the dwindling supply of anti-rabies vaccines for humans in the country caused by the recall of 50 percent of the world's supply due to contamination.
"What the department is going to do is to look for other ways of procuring kahit na smaller companies, basta FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved, kailangan makahanap tayo ng way na magbebenta sa atin ng anti-rabies vaccines," Health Undersecretary Eric Domingo said at a briefing Friday.
"We can work with the Department of Health to identify the suppliers that will be able to supply vaccines that are also of good quality," said Dr. Gundo Weiler, World Health Organization (WHO) Representative to the Philippines, in the same briefing.
Bulk supplies for anti-rabies vaccines for humans has become difficult to come by because of a global shortage caused by the recall of 50 percent of the world's supply.
"Talagang kalahati ng supply ng rabies vaccine sa buong mundo nakitang tainted at hindi puwedeng magamit, so winithdraw 'yan sa lahat ng bansa," Domingo said.
Vaccine supply is in an all-time-low in areas such as Bacolod, where five vials of rabies vaccine remain, while some areas such as Davao have consumed all their stocks.
The DOH plans to mobilize supplies from regions with high amounts of stock to areas with depleted supplies to make up for this problem.
"Tinitingnan na nila kung anong available per region, baka may lugar na nangangailangan, puwedeng ilipat muna natin doon," Domingo said.
He noted that local governments, in addition to using supplies from regional branches of the DOH, have always bought stock from local suppliers to augment their supplies.
There are currently no vaccine producers in the Philippines. All suppliers source their stocks from overseas manufacturers.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III announced earlier that the DOH will abide by WHO standards in looking for suitable vaccine suppliers.
Weiler said manufacturers who have not gone through the WHO pre-qualification process do not necessarily produce sub-standard products and may still be considered for the task.
"I think for this, we have to look beyond the list of pre-qualified drugs and explore options of procuring vaccines from other manufacturers who have not gone through that process formally, but we can assume that the drug is still of good quality," he said.
The pre-qualification list is not a requirement, rather, Weiler noted, it's a tool "to help countries decide from whom they should and could buy a vaccine."
"If, in a specific situation, not enough vaccine is available on the list, we need to look beyond this because at the end of the day, what counts is protecting the population and to have enough vaccine available, and if there is a temporary shortage in one domain, and there are ways to go beyond this," Weiler said.
Medicines and vaccines that are not on the WHO's pre-qualification list must still be registered with the FDA and its generic form pass the Formulary Executive Council's (FEC) assessment.
Like Duque, Domingo said the Philippines needs to improve its rabies immunization of dogs while Weiler noted that the Philippines has no shortage of animal vaccines.
"There's no shortage on that front and there's an opportunity for all of us to ensure that we step up vaccination, particularly dogs, against rabies. That will be increasing the protection for the population," Weiler said.
Pet owners are required by Republic Act 9482 or the Anti-Rabies Act of 2007 to have their dogs registered and immunized against the disease. —KBK, GMA News
