EUA process for AstraZeneca may be completed mid-January
(Eagle News) — The Food and Drug Administration said the emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine will be out in one to two days.
Food and Drug Administration chief Eric Domingo made the announcement on Monday, January 11, during the Senate inquiry into the country’s roadmap for a COVID-19 vaccination.
According to Domingo, the processing of the EUA for AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, for its part, may be completed mid-January.
An EUA is an authorization issued for unregistered drugs in a public health emergency.
Meanwhile, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said the bulk of COVID-19 vaccines to be used in the Philippines will come from US-based Novavax.
Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine, Covovax, will be manufactured by the Serum Institute of India.
The government has inked a term sheet with the SII’s local partner for 30 to 40 million doses.
Galvez said the government was so far negotiating for more or less 40 million doses with Pfizer.
The target was also to secure 25 to 30 million doses from AstraZeneca, and 25 million doses each from Sinovac and Gamaleya.
The government has said it was targeting COVID-19 vaccination of 50 to 60 percent of the population to achieve herd immunity.
Herd immunity takes place when most of the population is immune to an infectious disease, providing indirect protection to the rest.
