Trust regulator on Sinopharm use, DOST says after Chinese vaccine tagged as 'most unsafe'

The public should trust the country's drug regulator on whether or not it would authorize the local use of the COVID-19 vaccine from China's state-backed Sinopharm drug group, which a Taiwanese news website recently dubbed as the “most unsafe in the world,” the Department of Science and Technology said on Friday.

Media reports have also cited lower efficacy rates of Sinopharm's COVID-19 vaccine compared to its competitors.

"Hindi naman po siguro bibigyan ng go signal ng FDA kung mayroong ebidensya na hindi siya karapat-dapat," said Science Secretary Fortunato Dela Peña.

"Magtiwala po tayo sa ating FDA na siyang nakakaalam kung papaano ika nga ang basehan para bigyan ng emergency use authority o ng talagang permiso to market," he said in a public briefing.

(The FDA perhaps will not give its go signal if there is evidence that it is undeserved. Let us trust the FDA, which knows the basis on giving emergency use authority or permission to market.)

DOST Usec. Rowena Guevarra shows the shortlist of vaccines evaluated by the vaccine expert panel. She said they chose different types/platforms of vaccines. | via @kristinesabillo pic.twitter.com/XVEGPLhoUx

— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) January 8, 2021

Some members of President Rodrigo Duterte's security team have received shots of the Sinopharm vaccine, which has not yet been approved by the FDA.

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The Philippines has tallied some 482,000 coronavirus infections. The government hopes to secure supply deals for 148 million vaccine shots this month.

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