THE Department of Health (DOH) on Monday disclosed that it is already applying for the emergency use application (EUA) of China’s Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine.
In applying for the EUA, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire clarified that they are not acting as the “representative” of the manufacturer, and there is nothing anomalous in this setup as this is a “government-to-government” pathway.
“Hindi ito ang unang pagkakataon [This is not the first time that we are doing this]. We have done this for the Covax [facility] and [they] donated Sinovac,” Vergeire said.
She stressed that the procurement of Sinopharm vaccines would be possible through government-to-government.
She added that this is something that they are doing “to facilitate the process of receiving vaccines.”
The DOH official said that they are currently in the process of getting the documents of Sinopharm so that the application of the EUA will be “completed.”
Remdesivir plan clarified
Meanwhile, after Anakalusugan Party-list Rep. Mike Defensor threatened possible charges if the DOH insists on procuring the anti-viral medication remdesivir for Covid-19 treatment, a DOH official on Monday denied any procurement of the drug, which has no Certificate of Product Registration (CPR) yet.
“We do not have any procurement of remdesivir precisely because it has no CPR,” Vergeire said in an online briefing, noting that the DOH follows “regulatory protocols.”
Currently, the use of remdesivir is allowed through a compassionate special permit and the DOH is allocating funds to hospitals to procure drugs that could treat patients with Covid-19.
Earlier, the DOH and the Food and Drug Administration categorically denied the “insinuation” that certain department officials stand to “financially benefit” from the use of remdesivir and tocilizumab—another drug being used for treating Covid-19 patients.
“The use of remdesivir and tocilizumab are based on World Health Organization Solidarity Trials and are used only for critical and severe Covid-19 cases,” the DOH said.
Remdesivir and tocilizumab, the DOH added, are not yet recommended for the use of mild and asymptomatic cases.
The WHO has yet to set the appropriate treatment of Covid-19 patients and these are used to help in discovering effective therapeutics for Covid-19.
Moreover, the Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (PSMID) Covid-19 Living Recommendations suggests the use of remdesivir and tocilizumab as a “treatment” for patients with critical and severe Covid-19 cases.
It added that the Philippines is importing medicines from India and making them available to lower-income households through village pharmacies through RA 9502 or Cheaper Medicines Act.