The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said it would release the COVID-19 vaccines approved for the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Solidarity Trials this week.
In a press briefing on Tuesday, DOST vaccine expert panel council chairperson Dr. Nina Gloriani showed the specifics of WHO’s trials in the country.
“The vaccine or vaccines to be tested in the Philippines could be announced anytime this week of December 2020,” she said.
According to Gloriani, the total number of participants is still being finalized.
“We are still debating whether we will have 4,000 or 15,000 participants, as requested. We may not be able to really approve the 15,000—but we will try our best—because of logistical concerns,” she said.
The DOST official said the trials’ initial sites would be in areas with high COVID-19 transmissions, such as in the National Capital Region, Calabarzon, and Cordillera Administrative Region.
She added the WHO Solidarity Trials would prioritize individuals aged 18 to 59 years old and those who are part of the COVID-19 high-risk groups such as health workers, contacts of infected patients, and frontliners.
DOST said special groups may be included, like those 60 years old and above, and immunocompromised children.
Gloriani said primary outcomes evaluation on the effectiveness of the vaccines would take three to six months.
DOST to name COVID-19 vaccines approved for solidarity trial this week
For secondary outcomes, assessments such as “immune correlates of protection” and other immunological parameters and safety monitoring would take 12 to 18 months.
Gloriani named 14 hospital sites that that could be enrolled in the solidarity trials:
- Philippine General Hospital (lead hospital)
- Research Institute of Tropical Medicine
- Manila Doctor’s Hospital
- San Lazaro Hospital
- St. Lukes Medical Center – Quezon City
- St. Lukes Medical Center – Bonifacio Global City
- Lung Center of the Philippines
- The Medical City
- Makati Medical Center
- De La Salle Medical Center – Cavite
- Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center – Cebu City
- Southern Philippines Medical Center – Davao City
- Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center
- Western Visayas Medical Center – Iloilo City
Aside from vaccines under the WHO Solidarity Trial, five potential COVID-19 vaccines were also applied to conduct clinical trials in the Philippines: Sinovac, Janssen, Sputnik V, Clover Biopharmaceuticals, and AstraZeneca.