Thursday, August 13, 2020

COVID-free Christmas still possible, Palace says


A Christmas season free of the scourge of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains a possibility this year, MalacaƱang said Thursday as it admitted that there are other vaccines currently being developed elsewhere in the world that are ahead of Russiaā€™s Sputnik-V.

ā€œPwede po (ang COVID-19-free Christmas) dahil ang alam ko po ā€˜yung sa Tsina, sa Oxford at sa Amerika nasa 3rd Phase na po sila ng clinical trial,ā€ Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a Palace press briefing.

Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier announced Moscow has approved and registered a vaccine for COVID-19, the disease that has already infected over 20 million people worldwide.

President Duterte expressed confidence on the effectiveness of Russiaā€™s vaccine, which he said will be ready by December, when ā€œthe Philippines will be free of COVID-19 and will be able to enjoy a peaceful Christmas.ā€

However, Russiaā€™s vaccine is expected to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for public use by April 2021, four months short of Duterteā€™s projection.

The Philippines is set to conduct Phase 3 of clinical trials of Russiaā€™s COVID-19 vaccine from October 2020 to March 2021.

During Phase 3 of the clinical trials, tens of thousands of patients will have to be vaccinated to test its safety and efficacy.

By: Darryl John Esguerra - Reporter / INQUIRER.net


Source: Peso Economics

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