Covid vaccines that have already secured approval for use abroad will be prioritized for local use, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said.
FDA director general Eric Domingo made the announcement in an online press briefing on Thursday after President Rodrigo R. Duterte signed Executive Order (EO) 121.
The issuance allowed FDA to issue a emergency use authorization (EUA) for Covid-19 vaccines and drugs, which will reduce the processing time for its local use from six months to just 21 to 28 days.
“Well I think those who will first apply are those which already got a EUA in other countries like Pfizer, Moderna, and maybe Sinovac and Sinopharm,” Domingo said.
Pfizer was able to secure an EUA from the United Kingdom, while Sinovac and Sinopharm got similar recognition from China.
Moderna has applied for an EUA in the US FDA.
Domingo noted such approvals from abroad by said vaccines manufacturers is necessary before they could apply for a local EUA.
He, however, stressed the said approval of the EUA applications will depend on the prompt submission of required documents from said manufacturers for FDA as well as if it will pass the review vaccine expert panel.
“If they now apply here, then maybe in the first few weeks of January, we may be able to issue Emergency Use Authorization,” Domingo said.
This will allow the government to start its Covid-19 vaccination drive, by March 2021, which is earlier than the current target date of the government, which on May next year, the FDA head said.