Philippines To Study COVID-19 Vaccine Mixing
VACCINE MIXING – As the Philippines lacks COVID-19 vaccines, the Department of Science and Technology said they would start a study on vaccine mixing.
This meant that the DOST would study mixing and matching coronavirus vaccine brands for 18 months. Furthermore, 1,200 participants are expected for the study to begin in the following month.
Meanwhile, the DOST is still waiting for approval from the Food and Drug Administration and the Health Research Ethics boards. During an interview with ABS-CBN’s TeleRadyo, DOST Secretary Fortunato dela Peña said:
Ito po ay magkaibang bakuna sa 2 doses. Meron po tayong 7 bakuna na approved with an EUA (emergency use authorization) pero di po natin masiguro kung dadating sa tamang petsa yung kailangang second dose kaya mangangailangan tayo na magkaroon ng kombinasyon ng bakuna
Moreover, dela Peña said that any two vaccines could be theoretically mixed. However, they still need to study which vaccine mix would be the best combination.
Additionally, the study would focus mainly on mixing Sinovac, the Philippines’ largest vaccine supply, with other brands. Currently, the country has largely been distributing doses of Sinovac, providing the Philippines with a steady supply from China.
As per the the interview, dela Peña stated that the participants would come from Manila, Rizal, Pasig, Makati, Pasay, Muntinlupa, Cebu and Davao.
In a bid to achieve herd immunity, the Philippine government aims to inoculate 120,000 individuals daily in Metro Manila alone. Along with this, the government also wants to vaccinate 500,000 people daily in key economic hubs across the country.
As of now, the Philippines wants to achieve their vaccination goals by November this year. By that time, the government aims to inoculate up to 70 million or two-thirds of the country’s population.
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