PH to start P100M study into effects of COVID-19 vaccines on Filipinos

A woman holds a small bottle labelled with a “Coronavirus COVID-19 Vaccine” sticker and a medical syringe in this illustration taken October 30, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo

MANILA, Philippines — The country is set to start in June a P100-million study that will look into the effects of COVID-19 vaccines on Filipinos, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said Tuesday.

DOST Undersecretary for Research and Development Rowena Cristina Guevara said the study will look at the effects of the vaccines in terms of ethnicity as well as the period of its efficacy.

“Habang nagroroll-out ng bakuna ang DOH (Department of Health), we need to know kung ano ang real world performance ng mga bakuna na ginagamit natin. To that end, meron tayong isang project. This is going to be implemented by UP (University of the Philippines) Manila,” Guevara said in an online media forum.

(While the DOH is rolling out vaccines, we need to know the real world performance of vaccines. To that end, we will have a project to be implemented by UP Manila.)

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“Ang gagawin nila, habang nagvavaccinate ang DOH, pipili tayo ng participants doon na susundan natin kung ano ang nangyayari sa kanila after the vaccination after a year or so,” she added.

(What they will do is while the DOH vaccinates individuals, we will choose participants and see what will happen to them after the vaccination in a year or so.)

The study will take a year and will involve all the COVID-19 vaccines that are part of the government’s inoculation program, according to the DOST official. She added that the study may involve around 1,000 participants, but the number will still depend on the policy that will be approved.

The country has so far received COVID-19 vaccines from Sinovac Biotech, AstraZeneca, Gamaleya Institute, and Pfizer-BioNTech.

Over four million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have so far been administered in the Philippines, including around 250,000 doses provided as second shots.

EDV