US firm Novavax applies for emergency COVID-19 vaccine use in Philippines
MANILA, Philippines — American pharmaceutical firm Novavax has filed an application for Emergency Use Authorization in the Philippines for its COVID-19 vaccine, the country’s Food and Drug Administration said Friday.
FDA Director General Eric Domingo said in a text message to Philstar.com that Novavax has applied for emergency use approval but the requirements are still incomplete. He did not say when the US firm filed its application.
In March, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said the government signed a supply deal for 30 million doses of the Novavax vaccine. He said the Novavax jabs may arrive in the country between the third and fourth quarter of 2021.
The Maryland-based company said its COVID-19 jab is more than 90% effective, including against coronavirus variants.
The jab demonstrated 100% protection against moderate and severe disease and 90.4% efficacy overall, the company in a statement said after a large-scale North American study.
The protein-based vaccine is taken in two doses. Novavax said its COVID-19 shot does not have to be stored at ultra-low temperatures.
The country’s drug regulator has so far granted emergency use approvals to the jabs made by Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Sinovac Biotech, Gamaleya Research Institute, Johnson & Johnson, Bharat Biotech, and Moderna.
At least 10 million individuals have completed vaccination against COVID-19, Malacañang said Thursday. — with report from Agence France-Presse
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