MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Science and Technology is still waiting for the greenlight from the World Health Organization to begin a large scale coronavirus vaccine trial in the country, an official said Tuesday.
DOST Undersecretary Rowena Guevara, who leads the Task Group on Vaccine Evaluation and Selection, said the government is all set for the WHO Solidarity Vaccine Trial and is just waiting for the UN health agency to give the go signal for it to proceed.
She said the country’s Food and Drug Administration and the ethics review board have approved the large-scale trial.
"We’re just waiting for the formal announcement from the WHO for the global and local launching of the said study," Guevara said in Filipino during a briefing.
"The WHO is ensuring that participating countries are well prepared. The negotiations and review of the vaccine brands that will be included in the trial are thorough. Variants also emerged, which the WHO had to consider in updating the clinical trial protocols that’s why it took a lot of time," she added.
The DOST official urged unvaccinated individuals who are from the localities where the solidarity vaccine trials will take place to participate in the study.
The WHO earlier said that the results of the vaccine solidarity trial could be expected within three to six months.
In the Philippines, over 15 million people have completed vaccination against COVID-19, while over 20 million have received partial protection. — Gaea Katreena Cabico