Chinese envoy cites progress in Philippines procurement of vaccines
MANILA, Philippines — The Chinese embassy has cited the progress in talks between the Philippines and China on the procurement of vaccines even as it reiterated its commitment to help the country fight the pandemic.?
Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian noted that the Philippine government has been negotiating with various vaccine developers, including Chinese enterprises, for possible procurement.?
“We are happy to see positive progress in vaccine cooperation between China and the Philippines. I hope Chinese vaccines could contribute to the fight of Filipino government and people against COVID-19 at an early date,” Huang said in an interview with Filipino journalists before the weekend.?
The envoy also noted efforts of the Philippine government to initiate “a series of practical measures to promote international cooperation in vaccines.”?
“China is willing to work with the Philippines to fight the pandemic and help the Philippine economy and society return to normal as soon as possible,” Huang added.?
Citing the World Health Organization, he noted that as of Dec. 8, a total of 13 vaccine makers have entered Phase 3 of the clinical trial stage, five of which are from China, including Sinopharm, Sinovac, CanSino and Anhui Zhifei.
Chinese vaccine companies have been actively carrying out research and development for an effective serum for inoculation against COVID-19.?
At present, more than 60,000 volunteers worldwide have been vaccinated without any serious adverse reactions, showcasing excellent safety and efficacy of the Chinese vaccines, Huang said.?
Phase 3 clinical trials of these vaccines are being carried out in more than 10 countries, such as the UAE, Brazil, Indonesia, Peru, Argentina and Pakistan, with vaccination population samples covering 125 nationalities, some of which have been or are about to be completed, and the data have been submitted to different regulatory agencies for listing approval, he added.
?“It is worth mentioning that about 1,500 Filipinos participated in the Phase 3 clinical trials of the Sinopharm vaccine in the UAE,” the envoy also said.
Meanwhile, amid reports of bribery against Sinovac which is applying to do a clinical trial in the country for its COVID-19 vaccines, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday that it will “not be bribed.”
According FDA director general Eric Domingo, the agency will not sell the approval to conduct the trial to any pharmaceutical companies.
“As far as FDA is concerned, we do our due diligence to make sure that everything that is submitted to us follows what we require and that they are reliable documents and they are authentic,” he said in an interview.
The official was reacting to a recent report of the Washington Post that Sinovac had history of bribery to vaccine regulators in China.
Sinovac has applied to conduct clinical trial for its vaccine against COVID-19. It has been cleared by the vaccine expert panel but its applications remain pending at the Single Joint Ethics Review Board and FDA. – Sheila Crisostomo
