Vice President Leni Robredo said she does not oppose the use of Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine in the Philippines. However, she said the Health Technology Assessment Council should have given the Chinese vaccine a positive recommendation just like those of AstraZeneca and Pfizer.
In “The Mangahas Interviews”, Robredo said her doubts about Sinovac did not have anything to do with its being manufactured by China.
“Wala akong opposition against Sinovac. Hindi ito dahil ginawa ito sa China, o dahil 50%. May medical experts naman na nagrereview. Kung sabihin nila na okay, good enough ‘yun para sa akin,” Robredo told journalist Malou Mangahas.
“Pero huwag naman i-short cut ang proseso,” she added.
Sinovac is the third drug maker granted with EUA after AstraZeneca of UK and Pfizer-BioNTech of US/Germany. The COVID-19 vaccines from western pharmaceutical companies have been found to have a 70% to 95% efficacy rate.
The Food and Drug Administration said that Sinovac’s efficacy is from 65.3% to 91.2%. However, it only reached 50.4% among health workers with COVID-19 exposure.
“Kung hiningi iyong positive recommendation ng HTAC sa Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca, bakit hindi magawa sa Sinovac? Obligasyon natin na bigyan ng added layer of protection ang ating mga kababayan,” Robredo said.
President Rodrigo Duterte and his spokesperson, Harry Roque, said HTAC’s approval is not required since it was just a recommendatory panel.
Robredo says she has nothing against Sinovac
However, Robredo vehemently disagreed.
“Bakit pa ginawa ang HTAC kung hindi bibigyang respeto, hindi susundin ang kanyang mandate. Kung ngayong linggo, bigyan siya (Sinovac) ng positive recommendation ng HTAC, wala na tayong masasabi,” Robredo said.
“Pero the mere fact na ine-exempt siya tapos iyong iba hindi naman ine-exempt, iyon ‘yung mali,” she added.
Meanwhile, the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG) and the Health Technology Assessment Council, an independent advisory body in the Department of Health, have agreed that the Sinovac vaccine could be administered to health workers.
This includes frontliners, or those directly caring for patients with COVID-19.
According to DOH, it is clear from the emergency use authorization issued by the FDA that Sinovac is not prohibited for health care workers.