MANILA, April 7 (Reuters) - Philippine health authorities on
Wednesday allowed the use of Sinovac's SVA.O COVID-19 vaccine
for some senior citizens after initially limiting coverage to
people aged 18-59 years, as the country battles one of Asia's
worst coronavirus outbreaks.
The Department of Health and the Food and Drug
Administration said they made the decision after receiving the
recommendation of the Department of Science and Technology's
vaccine expert panel.
Senior citizens can now receive CoronaVac shots provided
there is stringent evaluation of the person's health status and
exposure risk, they said in a statement.
The Southeast Asian country has seen new daily cases surge,
mostly in the capital Manila, and its inoculation drive is being
hampered by delays in vaccine deliveries.
A total of 922,898 doses of Sinovac and AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) vaccines
have been administered so far to healthcare workers, senior
citizens, and people with comorbidities, or just a third of the
total local stocks, health ministry data showed.
Last week, the chair of a World Health Organization panel
said Sinovac and another Chinese vaccine maker, Sinopharm, had
presented data indicating levels of efficacy that would be
compatible with those required. The Philippine health authorities said that even though
efficacy data for senior citizens from Phase III trials of the
Sinovac vaccine, known as CoronaVac, was not yet sufficient "the
benefits of using the vaccine for this particular group outweigh
its risks".
The Philippines has also negotiated vaccine supply deals
with other manufacturers, aiming to inoculate up to 70 million
people, or two thirds of its population.