An employee holds a vial containing CoronaVac, Sinovac Biotech’s vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at Butantan biomedical production center in Sao Paulo, Brazil January 12, 2021. REUTERS file photo / Amanda Perobelli
MANILA, Philippines — CoronaVac, the COVID-19 vaccine from China’s Sinovac Biotech, can be used for individuals with “controlled” comorbidities, the Department of Health (DOH) said Monday.
In a Viber message to reporters, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that “based on experts of HTAC (Health Technology Assessment Council) and NITAG’s (National Immunization Technical Advisory Group) recommendations, also based on scientific studies, CoronaVac can be given to individuals with controlled comorbidities.”
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) earlier recommended the use of CoronaVac to “clinically healthy” individuals aged 18 to 69, as studies showed the vaccine has a higher efficacy rate among this group.
Earlier this March, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. also said that some health experts are recommending the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine for elderly healthcare workers.
The biotech firm has said that its COVID-19 vaccine is 80 percent effective at preventing the disease in the elderly.
On Saturday, Malacañang announced that the vaccination for health workers, elderly, and persons with comorbidities will be held simultaneously in a bid to hasten the vaccine rollout.
According to Vergeire, “AstraZeneca [vaccines will be] for seniors and Sinovac for those with comorbidities, aligned with the indications of the EUA [emergency use authorization].”
Vergeire also said that a person’s comorbidities should be “controlled” first before he or she can receive the vaccine shot.
“Kailangan po natin maintindihan, ang bibigyan natin ng bakuna ay ang mga tao na may controlled na comorbidity,” she said.
(We have to understand that those who will receive the vaccine are those with controlled comorbidity.)
“Ibig sabihin kung may high blood po kayo tapos hindi controlled ang highblood niyo, and during the time that you were assessed mataas siguro ang blood pressure, hindi nakakainom ng matagal na sa kanyang gamot, imamanage po muna ‘yun bago siya mabakunahan,” Vergeire explained.
(For example, if you have high blood pressure and it is not controlled and during that time you were assessed, your blood pressure is high, then your condition will be managed first before you get the vaccine.)
The country has so far administered a total of 656,331 COVID-19 vaccine doses out of the 1,525,600 available doses, according to DOH.
COVID-19 vaccination is being conducted in 2,494 sites in all 17 regions as of March 27, the health department added.