MANILA — The Department of Health (DOH) confirmed Tuesday that bivalent vaccines by Moderna and Pfizer against COVID-19 have been granted emergency use authority (EUA) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Speaking to reporters, DOH OIC Maria Rosario Vergeire said the EUA was granted last week along with recommendations made by the Health Technology Assessment Council.
DOH is expected to release in the coming days the recommendation as well as the guidelines for the priority population.
Compared to the monovalent vaccines designed to combat the original SARS-COV2 that emerged in Wuhan, China at the latter part of 2019, the bivalent vaccines now provide protection against severe disease from caused by newer variants.
“This bivalent vaccine has this component which addresses Omicron and its subvariants. But siyempre nag-e-evolve pa rin yung pag-aaral ng mga scientists,” she said.
While no specific date has been given by the agency, the DOH has earlier said the procurement of bivalent vaccines are projected by the first quarter of 2023.
“We are pursuing the procurement of bivalent vaccines, because articles and evidences have shown na ito ay mas makakaprotect sa ating kababayan because of component on Omicron variant,” Vergeire said.
DOH, COVID-19, bivalent vaccines, Moderna, Pfizer, Department of Health, Maria Rosario Vergeire