Philippines grants EUA to Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine

The Philippines has approved the emergency use authorization (EUA) for Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, according to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director General Eric Domingo on Wednesday.

Domingo said during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum that the FDA took around 10 days to review the documents in connection with Moderna’s EUA application. Moderna filed its EUA application on April 26.

He said the vaccine will be administered to persons aged 18 and above.

“The benefit of using the vaccine outweighs the known and potential risks,” Domingo said.

“The interim data from the ongoing Phase 3 trials as published showed that the vaccine has an overall efficacy rate of over 94% in preventing COVID-19.”

Last week, vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said the government procured some 13 million doses from Moderna while the private sector ordered seven million doses. Close to 200,000 doses will be delivered to the Philippines in June.

Senator Manny Pacquiao, meanwhile, has asked US President Joseph Biden, through a letter, to facilitate the immediate release of the 20 million doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine.

Moderna, a US pharmaceutical firm, has earlier said it expects to increase global production of its  COVID-19 vaccine to up to three billion doses in 2022.

Reaching the three billion mark will depend on the mix of its mRNA vaccine and potentially lower doses of Moderna's pediatric vaccine and variant booster shots, the company said.

The company also raised its supply forecast for this year to between 800 million and one billion doses.

The other COVID-19 vaccines approved by the FDA for emergency use are Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Sinovac, Janssen, Covaxin, and Sputnik V.   --KBK, GMA News