(UPDATED) The Department of Health (DOH) on Monday, September 6, 2021, assured that the Sinovac vaccines that have arrived in the Philippines are safe, having been manufactured in a licensed and authorized facility.
In a virtual press conference, DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said each Sinovac vaccine shipment comes with a certificate of analysis from the manufacturer, which attests that the vaccines were produced in an authorized facility, and have met quality standards and the specifications in the emergency use authorization (EUA).
Vergeire said the vaccines are cleared for deployment and distribution only upon the submission of the certificate of analysis by the manufacturer.
“This is why the vaccines are not immediately distributed upon arrival. We always wait for the certificate of analysis and that is our assurance that they came from a manufacturing plant that is up to standards,” Vergeire said .
“Ang certificate of analysis ang pinanghahawakan natin para d’yan,” she added. Vergeire was asked to comment on reports that Brazil has suspended the use of 12.1 million Sinovac shots that were produced in an unauthorized plant.
The Philippines has received a total of 29.5 million doses of the Sinovac inactivated vaccine against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), with the latest shipment containing 3.0 million doses that arrived on August 31.
Of the 29.5 million doses, 27.6 million were procured by the national government.
The latest Sinovac shipment was deployed mostly to the Calabarzon, Central Luzon, Central Visayas, Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas and other regions experiencing a surge in Covid-19 cases, National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 chief implementer Carlito Galvez Jr. said.
The Philippines has also received vaccines from AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, Gamaleya and Janssen. As of September 2, a total of 52,792,130 doses have been delivered to the Philippines. (Marites Villamor-Ilano / SunStar Philippines)