Drilon: Sinovac ‘pales in comparison’ with Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca

Senate Minority Leader Frank Drilon on Friday expressed disappointment with the plan to procure vaccines made by Chinese pharmaceutical Sinovac Biotech, which had a reported 50 percent efficacy rate.

“While 50 percent efficacy meets the minimum requirement for vaccines, Sinovac’s reported 50 percent efficacy clearly pales in comparison with Pfizer and Moderna, and even Astra Zeneca,” he said.

“I do not see how 50 percent efficacy can build public trust and confidence in vaccines. Sinovac should be more transparent with their data,” Drilon said.

“Buhay at kinabukasan ng mga Pilipino ang pinag-uusapan natin dito, hindi natin tatanggapin ang salitang ‘pwede na’ pagdating sa usapin ng bakuna,” he added.

Drilon said vaccine czar Carlito Galvez “must consider this carefully and wait for clearer guidelines from the scientific community and other authorizing agencies to determine whether Sinovac is worth offering to our people.”

“It is most important that we get our vaccination program started in 2021 with the best possible combination of vaccines we can procure,” he said.

“There is a global shortage of vaccines and we should focus on vaccinating our priority segments. Herd immunity will require a multi-year vaccination program and over time, we can look to inoculate 60 percent or 90 percent of our total population,” he said.

“But our near term priority should be to vaccinate our frontliners and highest risk population, which is the first 20 percent of our people,” Drilon said.

Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)