The Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Philippines told Congress that the Russian government is open to the proposal to set up a local manufacturing facility in the Philippines for the Covid-19 vaccine, “Sputnik V.”
During Thursday’s meeting with the House Committee on People Participation, Vladisav Mongush, commercial advisor of the Russian Embassy, said establishing a local manufacturing facility in the Philippines for the Sputnik V will not only enable Manila to make its own vaccine but also to complement existing efforts for vaccine production for other illnesses.
Also, Mongush said, the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology, manufacturer of Sputnik V, and Philippine Council for Health Research and Development has already signed a non-disclosure agreement to allow the Philippines to study the vaccine for the third phase of clinical trials.
Mongush said once the safety and efficacy of the vaccine is established, the Philippine government may start the third phase of human trials next month.
Mongush also announced that Russia is set to conduct the vaccination for Covid-19 of their medical frontliners this coming September 15.
He also belied earlier reports that the daughter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who took part in the clinical trials of Sputnik V, has died saying the report is “pure fake news.”
Facilitate
Meanwhile, House Committee on People Participation Chairman Florida Robes has vowed to facilitate cooperation in the conduct of clinical studies of Sputnik V to ensure their availability in the country at the earliest possible time.
Robes made a statement following a committee meeting with representatives from the Russian Embassy on the update of its newly developed Russian vaccine.
Robes said her committee will make representations with concerned agencies like the Departments of Health (DOH) and, Science and Technology (DOST) to inquire on the status of the vaccine now being studied for Phase 3 of the clinical trials.
“We will help fast-track cooperation with the Russian government and our local agencies. We will hold another meeting with the DOH and the DOST for them to brief us on the status of Sputnik V so that we will know if there are concerns that can be addressed so that we can have access to it at the earliest possible time,” Robes said.
Robes vowed to continue with the meetings and dialogues with the different stakeholders in the vaccine development for Covid-19. “We want to ensure that as long as their safety and efficacy are proven and established, the Filipino people will have access to the Covid-19 vaccine so that we can all start to recover and move forward,” she said.
Tatiana Shlychkova, minister-counsellor and deputy head of mission of the Russian Embassy, said their vaccine has been proven to be safe and efficient in providing immunity to the Covid-19 virus using human adenovirus vectors, which were highly effective in the tests for the Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS coronavirus.
Shlychkova said she herself already received the vaccine because she believes in its safety and efficacy.
Shlychkova said the clinical trials may last for three months and if all goes well, the vaccine may be made available as early as January next year for the country. “The speed to have the vaccine will really depend on the speed on how Philippine officials will conduct the tests on the vaccine,” she said.
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