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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 1) Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Monday refuted Vice President Leni Robredo s statement that the Sinovac vaccines should have undergone health technology assessment first. He said this type of expert review is not mandatory under the Universal Health Care law.
Roque, who co-authored the UHC law, said the health technology assessment process is only recommendatory to the Department of Health and PhilHealth under the measure. The letter is the law is very clear po. It s recommendatory, he told a televised meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte and other government officials. And the spirit of the law was never to duplicate the function of the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), dahil yung safety and efficacy po, yan na po yung function ng FDA [because ensuring safety and efficacy is already a function of the FDA], Roque added.
President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday night said health workers who do not want to get Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine should wait for a few days to get inoculated.
Vice President Leni Robredo wants Sinovac’s CoronaVac to go through the proper process of receiving a positive recommendation from the Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC) before the government begins its rollout.
Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan on Sunday said he supports the call of the doctors and medical staff of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) for an immediate review and recommendation on the use of Sinovac vaccines, the first anti-COVID-19 vaccine scheduled to arrive today in the Philippines.
The vaccine against COVID-19 developed by Chinese firm Sinovac should undergo further appraisal before being administered to healthcare workers, Philippine General Hospital doctors said Saturday