China's Sinopharm is applying for emergency use authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine in the Philippines, Malacañang said Monday as the country rolled out its mass immunization program.
Sinopharm has filed its application with the local Food and Drug Administration for evaluation, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said.
"It has been filed. They have already filed with the FDA an application for EUA for Sinopharm vaccine," Roque said in a press briefing.
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But the DOH said it received information from FDA Director General Eric Domingo that the Chinese firm has yet to file an application for EUA.
Granting an EUA to a vaccine would expedite its availability to the people who need it the most but it is not a license to sell the drugs commercially.
In the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippine government is rushing to make vaccines available to the most vulnerable to the virus: medical frontliners, and the elderly.
So far, the Philippines has authorized three vaccines for emergency use -- Pfizer and BioNTech's, AstraZeneca's, and Sinovac's.
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