Sinovac vows to deliver Covid-19 vaccines to PH ‘sooner’

Bottles of the Sinovac vaccine are seen at a hospital, as Indonesia drives mass vaccination for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Jakarta, Indonesia, January 21, 2021. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

MANILA, Philippines — Sinovac will deliver “sooner” the 600,000 doses of coronavirus vaccine that the Chinese government has promised to donate to the Philippines, the drugmaker’s general manager said Wednesday.

“Actually, the products [are] already there, we are managing the procedures of making the delivery and we will expect Philippines will be one of the important countries we’re going to supply the products,” Sinovac general manager Helen Yang said in an interview over ABS-CBN News Channel when asked when its vaccines will be delivered to the country.

Yang did not state a specific date for the vaccines’ arrival, though she said “it will be soon.”

“We’re working very hard in order to make it happen. We’ll try our best. We will do it sooner,” Yang said.

On Monday, Sinovac’s vaccine secured an emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The FDA, however, did not advise Sinovac’s vaccine to be administered on senior citizens and health workers treating Covid-19 patients.

The country’s National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG), a group of medical experts, is said to be discussing the prioritization scheme on vaccination considering FDA’s recommendation.

EDV