The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has identified the Western Visayas Medical Center (WVMC) in Iloilo City as one of the hospital sites that could be enrolled for the World Health Organization’s Solidarity Trials of potential COVID-19 vaccine products in the Philippines early next year.
Dr. Nina Gloriani, vaccine panel council chairperson of DOST and member of the scientific steering committee of WHO, said the vaccines be tested in the country under the WHO-led trials will be announced this week.
The total number of participants, according to Gloriani, is still being discussed.
“We are still debating whether we will have 4,000 or 15,000 participants, as requested. We may not be able to really approve the 15,000—but we will try our best—because of logistical concerns,” she said.
The initial participating sites will come from areas with high transmission of COVID-19 such as in the National Capital Region, Calabarzon and Cordillera Administrative Region.
The other hospital sites identified by the science and technology department are as follows:
▪Philippine General Hospital (lead hospital)
▪Research Institute of Tropical Medicine
▪Manila Doctor’s Hospital
▪San Lazaro Hospital
▪St. Lukes Medical Center – Quezon City
▪St. Lukes Medical Center – Bonifacio Global City
▪Lung Center of the Philippines
▪The Medical City
▪Makati Medical Center
▪De La Salle Medical Center – Cavite
▪Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center – Cebu City
▪Southern Philippines Medical Center – Davao City
▪Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center
There are currently more than 50 COVID-19 vaccine candidates in trials. WHO is working in collaboration with scientists, business, and global health organizations through the ACT Accelerator to speed up the pandemic response.
So far, only Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca have showed at least 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 after human trials.
Recently, the Philippine government inked a deal with AstraZeneca and the private sector purchasing P2.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine.IMT
