MANILA, Philippines — The clinical trials for the World Health Organization (WHO) Solidarity Trial for COVID-19 vaccines in the country is set to start in December, the Department of Health (DOH) said Monday.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said WHO will release more details on the trials within the week.
“Nag-announce na ang WHO na mag-uumpisa ang trials by December 2020,” she said in an online media forum.
(The WHO has announced that trials will start by December.)
“Sa November kasi parang mag-uumpisa sila sa isang site, then magfa-follow ‘yung mga iba’t-ibang clinical trials in the other countries, including the Philippines, by December 2020,” she added.
(By November, they will start in one site and the rest of the trials in other countries, including the Philippines, will follow by December 2020.)
The WHO Solidarity Trial was initially set to start in the country by the end of October.
Meanwhile, Vergeire said that WHO has removed the interferon drugs from the organization’s clinical trials for COVID-19 treatment.
“Pinatigil na, tatanggalin na sa treatment arm ng WHO ‘yung drug na interferon,” she said.
(The drug interferon was removed from the list of drugs being tested as a treatment for COVID-19.)
“Because nakita base sa resulta ng clinical trial na hindi naman siya nakakapag-reduce ng mortality among COVID-19 patients,” Vergeire added.
(It was seen in the results of the clinical trial that it did not help in reducing mortality among COVID-19 patients.)
Meanwhile, WHO advised the Philippines to continue using the antiviral drug remdesivir because it wants to gather more data.
“Pinatuloy pa rin ng WHO. They would want more information, they would want more data, and they would want more accurate findings para sa remdesivir,” Vergeire said.
She added that doses of the cancer drug Acalabrutinib, which has been included in the WHO’s COVID-19 treatment trial, have arrived in the Philippines. Monoclonal antibody treatment will also be included.