Manila receives order of 500 additional tocilizumab vials for COVID-19 patients

Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso and Vice Mayor Ma. Sheilah “Honey” Lacuna-Pangan inspected the arrival of the additional vials on Tuesday, May 18, 2021. (Photo from the Manila Public Information Office)

MANILA, Philippines — Manila has received its order for 500 additional vials of tocilizumab, a drug used in treating COVID-19 patients, according to a statement issued on Wednesday by the city’s Public Information Office.

Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso and Vice Mayor Ma. Sheilah “Honey” Lacuna-Pangan inspected the vials on delivery on Tuesday, May 18.

The drug will be offered for free to patients in public and private hospitals, whether are Manila residents or not, according to a statement issued by the Manila Public Information Office on Wednesday.

“In our small way, we can help our countrymen more. The COVID-19 pandemic is a universal problem. It has to be approached inclusively,” Moreno said in Filipino.

The city procured the vials to strengthen its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Manila General Services officer Thelma Perez.

Perez said the local government allocated P13 million for the procurement of the vials.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control, tocilizumab is a monoclonal antibody used primarily for treating rheumatoid arthritis but has been studied as “a potential treatment for COVID-19.”

Specifically, it prevents cytokine storm syndrome, which in some COVID-19 patients, “results from an excessive inflammatory response that can aggravate respiratory failure and lead to systemic organ failure and death.”

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