Two senators on Thursday cautioned the government against embracing a Russian coronavirus vaccine as Malacañang announced plans to launch clinical trials for the drug in the Philippines, with President Rodrigo Duterte expected to be inoculated as early as May next year.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros warned the government not to be caught up in the global race to develop a vaccine for COVID-19, the severe respiratory disease caused by a new coronavirus.
“Although we are looking forward to the quick development of a vaccine, we need to be careful and make sure this is safe and passed all strict medical trials,” Hontiveros said.
Not a competition
“Let us not join the vaccine race of Russia and other countries because this is not a competition. The lives of people are at stake in the development of a vaccine,” she added.
Hontiveros also said waiting for a vaccine was not a strategy in fighting off the new coronavirus.
The government should deal with the effects of the pandemic head-on, she said.
It should confront and solve problems concerning testing, contact tracing, isolation and treatment, she said.
Sen. Joel Villanueva said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should make sure any vaccine for COVID-19 had passed its standards.
“There should be no shortcut in the accreditation because we would have a bigger problem if the vaccine or medicine has a side effect,” Villanueva said.
Duterte on Monday welcomed Russia’s announcement of the approval of Sputnik V, its coronavirus vaccine named in homage to the Soviet Union’s launch of the Earth’s first artificial satellite in 1957.
He thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offer to give the vaccine to the Philippines, and offered to be inoculated first during the clinical trials in the Philippines.
Russia announced the approval of the vaccine only two months after human trials started, drawing skepticism from experts who feared it may be putting national prestige before safety.
Phase 3 trials
On Thursday, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque announced the launch of Phase 3 trials in October, which will run up to March 2021, and said President Duterte may be inoculated as early as May next year.
Filipino scientists met with representatives of the vaccine developer, Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, to discuss trials and information about the drug.
“By April, we expect that the vaccine will be registered with the FDA, which means that by May 2021 the President can be injected with a Russian vaccine,” Roque said.
He said Mr. Duterte’s expression of support for the Russian vaccine and his willingness to be the first in the country to be inoculated with it would not affect the review by independent health experts.
“This conducted by scientists, not politicians. I think they will be following strict scientific protocols,” Roque said.
The Department of Science and Technology said it would still welcome clinical trials of vaccines being developed by other countries, despite the trials of the Russian drug.
The FDA said it saw the possibility of having a vaccine for COVID-19 by the end of the year.
“The possibility is there. Maybe not as early as October but by the end of the year,” FDA Director-General Eric Domingo said in a television interview.
More infections
On Thursday, the Department of Health (DOH) reported 4,002 additional coronavirus infections, pushing the national total to 147,526 cases, 74,713 of them active.
Most of the new cases were in Metro Manila, which had 2,445. Laguna trailed, with 319, while Cebu reported 212, Rizal 142, and Cavite 101.
Of the active cases, the DOH said 91.2 percent were mild, 7.3 percent asymptomatic, 0.6 percent severe, and 0.9 percent critical.
The DOH reported that 1,403 more patients had recovered, bringing the total number of COVIDA-19 survivors to 70,387. But the death toll rose to 2,426 with the deaths of 23 more patients. —WITH REPORTS FROM JULIE M. AURELIO, TINA G. SANTOS, DEXTER CABALZA, AND REUTERS