The COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech could secure emergency use authorization in the Philippines as early as this week, offering hope for a faster immunization rollout, the head of the Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday.
The vaccine from U.S.-based Pfizer will be the first to get EUA from the Philippines. It applied for the certification last Dec. 23, FDA Director General Eric Domingo told ANC.
“Believe me, we are making this as quick as possible and I'm quite sure we'll be out with the authorization within a week. That’s quite short compared to other countries," he said.
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The country's top businessmen earlier placed an advance order for 2.6 million vaccines from the UK's AstraZeneca, co-developed with Oxford University.
China's Sinovac and Russia's Gamaleya have asked for requirements to secure emergency use authorization, Domingo said.
President Rodrigo Duterte's security earlier received vaccines from China's Sinopharm.
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