Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, DOH spokesperson. INQUIRER.net file photo / CONSUELO MARQUEZ
MANILA, Philippines — It’ll still need “two to three weeks” before the COVID-19 testing kits from the University of the Philippines-National Institute of Health to be mass produced, Department of Health spokesperson Usec. Maria Rosario Vergeire said Saturday.
In live video uploaded on the public broadcasting station PTV, Vergeire said the government is still validating the testing kits in terms of effectiveness and that validation “is not a fast process.”
The Food and Drug Administration will then issue a certificate of product registration (CPR) so the test kits become available in the market.
“These test kits, after the field trials, will still need to be evaluated and be given a CPR,” said Vergeire. “The testing kits will need the CPR before it get released to the market.”
“We’ll wait for the CPR before these testing kits get used in the Philippines.”
Nevertheless, Vergeire said that the government is conducting testing across its five subnational laboratories, three of which are outside Metro Manila.
The Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Muntinlupa can conduct an average 600 tests a day while the other subnational laboratories can each accommodate 50-100.
“Total for one day average is 950 to 1,000,” said Vergeire.
The Philippines, however, received 100,000 testing kits from South Korea, China, and Brunei.