Palace: Sinovac must present more data to allow use of vaccine on senior citizens

MANILA, Philippines — Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac will be asked to present additional data on its COVID-19 vaccine CoronaVac before it can be given to senior citizens, Malacañang said Thursday.

This way, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can reassess the emergency use authorization (EUA) it gave to CoronaVac, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque explained.

“I think steps will be taken to ask the local representatives of Sinovac to present additional data sa FDA para mabago po yung EUA na inissue ng FDA. Ang kailangan lang naman po ng FDA ay additional data,” Roque said in an online briefing when sought to comment on vaccinating senior citizens with CoronaVac.

(I think steps will be taken to ask the local representatives of Sinovac to present additional data to the FDA to change the EUA it issued. The FDA only needs additional data.)

When it issued a EUA to CoronaVac, the FDA recommended against administering it on senior citizens due to a lack of concrete studies.

READ: Duque: FDA may revise Sinovac jab advisory if data backs vaccination for seniors

Meanwhile, Roque expressed support for the use of the CoronaVac vaccine on the elderly, saying it is already being used on senior citizens in other countries.

“Very supportive po dahil alam natin na napakaraming bansa na sa daigdig ang gumagamit ng Sinovac para sa senior citizens,” Roque said.

(We are very supportive because we all know that many countries in the world are already using Sinovac for senior citizens.)

Indonesia and Turkey are among the countries that have approved the use of CoronaVac for their elderly population.

/MUF