MANILA, Philippines — The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has clarified there is no delay in the issuance of the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to vaccine manufacturers.
FDA Director General Eric Domingo said the agency managed to lessen the approval process from six months to 21 days.
Domingo added the applications should still be thoroughly reviewed especially if it will be distributed to Filipinos.
“Kailangan naman natin ng magandang proseso at ng pagusuri bago natin payagan na gamitin ang bakuna sa milyon-milyong Pilipino (We need a thorough process and review before we can allow the vaccine to be used to millions of Filipinos),“ he said.
Three pharmaceutical companies Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, and Gamaleya already submitted their application for the EUA.
Several local government units (LGUs) also signed a deal with AstraZeneca to purchase COVID-19 vaccines.
The FDA said that while LGUs are free to sign tripartite deals with a COVID-19 vaccine manufacturer of their choosing., they can still partner with other COVID-19 vaccine makers.
“Maaari rin naman sila later on magkaroon ng agreements with other vaccines and coordinated with the DOH [Department of Health] and the NTF [National Task Force]. Hindi iyon exclusive sa isang marka lamang (They can have agreements with other vaccines later on, with the coordination of the DOH and NTF. That is not exclusive to one company),“ he said.
Meanwhile, Domingo said the FDA is still awaiting the guidelines of the national government on the vaccination plan, which includes the distribution of vaccines to various areas in the country.
Domingo also reiterated that individuals can opt-out of receiving the vaccine if they wish to do so.
“Even the FDA requires that if any person is going to be vaccinated especially under the EUA there should be a full, written informed consent before the vaccination,” he said. AAC (with reports from Aiko Miguel)
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