Manila, Philippines – Russia’s Sputnik V (Gam-COVID-Vac) COVID-19 Vaccine has been approved for Emergency Use by the Philippine Food and Drug Administration.
Philippine Archipelago International Trading Corporation (PAITC) applied for EUA on behalf of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and is now approved as a COVID-19 Vaccine in the Philippines.
The EUA for Sputnik V Vaccine states that it shall be administered only by vaccination providers, and used only to prevent COVID-19 in individuals aged 18 and older and that PAITC shall supply the Sputnik V Vaccine only to emergency response stakeholders which refers to the Department of Health (DOH) or the National Task Force Against COVID-19 (NTF) or their designees authorized to procure of purchase the said vaccine in line with the COVID-19 vaccination program. Designees may include hospitals (public and private), health facilities of other National Government Agencies, Local Government Units (LGUs) and other members of the Private Sector.
Sputnik V Vaccine has two components – Component I and Component II which is given 21 days after first dose is given.
The Philippines is now the 52nd country to approve Sputnik V. The vaccine had been previously approved in Russia, Belarus, Argentina, Bolivia, Serbia, Algeria, Palestine, Venezuela, Paraguay, Turkmenistan, Hungary, UAE, Iran, Republic of Guinea, Tunisia, Armenia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Republika Srpska (entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina), Lebanon, Myanmar, Pakistan, Mongolia, Bahrain, Montenegro, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Gabon, San-Marino, Ghana, Syria, Kyrgyzstan, Guyana, Egypt, Honduras, Guatemala, Moldova, Slovakia, Angola, Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Sri Lanka, Laos, Iraq, North Macedonia, Kenya, Morocco, Jordan, Namibia and Azerbaijan.
Sputnik V has a number of key advantages:
- Efficacy of Sputnik V is 91.6% as confirmed by the data published in the Lancet, one of the world’s oldest and most respected medical journals; it is one of only three vaccines in the world with efficacy of over 90%; Sputnik V provides full protection against severe cases of COVID-19.
- The Sputnik V vaccine is based on a proven and well-studied platform of human adenoviral vectors, which cause the common cold and have been around for thousands of years.
- Sputnik V uses two different vectors for the two shots in a course of vaccination, providing immunity with a longer duration than vaccines using the same delivery mechanism for both shots.
- The safety, efficacy and lack of negative long-term effects of adenoviral vaccines have been proven by more than 250 clinical studies over two decades.
- The developers of the Sputnik V vaccine are working collaboratively with AstraZeneca on a joint clinical trial to improve the efficacy of AstraZeneca vaccine.
- There are no strong allergies caused by Sputnik V.
- The storage temperature of Sputnik V at +2+8 C means it can be stored in a conventional refrigerator without any need to invest in additional cold-chain infrastructure.
- The price of Sputnik V is less than $10 per shot, making it affordable around the world.
This is indeed a big win for the Filipino people and the national government alike and could not have been possible without the hardwork and dedication of the Philippine Food and Drug Administration, led by Director General Dr. Rolando Enrique D. Domingo, & The National Task Force Against COVID-19 headed by Sec. Carlito Galvez. Special thanks as well to the Department of Foreign Affairs headed by Sec. Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. , Russian Ambassador H.E. Marat Pavlov and Philippine Ambassador to Russia H.E. Carlos Demyk Sorreta for spearheading this landmark cooperation between our two countries.
