Sinopharm vaccine to step up PH war against CoVid; Awaits EUA approval

As the country steps up its war against the worsening Covid-19 pandemic, the Philippine government has undertaken urgent measures to implement mass vaccination campaigns nationwide.

The influx of vaccine brands such as Sinovac, Pfizer and AstraZeneca has led to significant breakthroughs in the Covid war, with approximately one million Filipinos having been properly inoculated as of mid-April 2021.

However, the limited supply of the aforementioned vaccine brands does not seem enough to address the wide-scale demand to curb the continuous and alarming rise in the country’s daily Covid-19 tally.

Because of this, the introduction of other equally effective vaccine brands is expected to step up the ongoing mass inoculation campaign down to the grassroots level.

Among the promising brands awaiting emergency use authorization (EUA) by the Food and Drug Administration is the Sinopharm vaccine, developed by China Biotechnology Co. Ltd.

With the completion of the company’s phase III clinical trials as early as June 2020, the company forged international clinical cooperation agreements to fast track the dissemination of the vaccine all over the world.

In the Philippines, MKG Universal Drugs Trading Corp. has been appointed as the exclusive distributor of the Sinopharm vaccine.

MKG Universal CEO/President Atty. Mark Kristopher G. Tolentino expresses his optimism about the wide scale availability of the Sinopharm vaccine, which should be sufficient to properly inoculate the entire Filipino populace within record time.

He says, “In addition to the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine itself, Sinopharm China biology is also promoting the construction of high-level bio safety production facilities at wartime speed.”

Touting the superiority of the Sinopharm vaccine, Tolentino points out, “In this Covid-19 vaccine war, China adopts five technical routes to promote vaccine development: inactivated vaccine, recombinant protein vaccine, adenovirus vector vaccine, attenuated influenza virus vector live vaccine and nucleic acid vaccine. China biology alone has been making unremitting efforts to tackle key problems along the four technical routes at the same time, demonstrating their profound scientific research strength.”

He adds, “Sinopharm is China’s best vaccine, and is strongly recommended for both the young (three years old) and the old (up to 100 years old), as well as for those with underlying diseases and comorbidities. It is also suitable for Asians.”

“It is also worth mentioning that during the clinical trials held last June 2020 in the United Arab Emirates and Abu Dhabi, 1,500 among those tested were Filipinos, who all responded well to the treatment with no adverse side effects.

“We have filed for application for emergency use authorization as early as January this year, and as soon as we get FDA approval, we can bring in as much as 25 million vaccine doses which should be good for the entire populace.”

MKG Universal Drugs’ local business partner and exclusive sales, marketing and advertising arm, ALV Consultus Advertising Inc., hopes to implement the immediate dissemination of the vaccine to hospitals and other high-risk Covid-stricken populations with the assistance of local government units (LGUs).

ALV Consultus Advertising head Arnold Vegafria also believes that Sinopharm is China’s best vaccine, and is the answer to a reliable and cost-effective measure to finally curb the Covid virus and safeguard the health of millions of Filipinos within record time.

Vegafria asserts, “In our race against the Covid virus, every second counts. We can no longer afford to wait for other vaccines to come to us in trickles. With China’s undisputed edge in Covid-19 research, we believe that the Sinopharm vaccine can effectively and immediately curb the rising cases of Covid infections in the country. We are proud to take this bold initiative in contributing to the government’s efforts in flattening the curve, so that we can finally rise above this crisis and return to normalcy.”

“Once we get FDA approval, we can have the Sinopharm vaccine here in just one week, to be delivered by plane. China has always affirmed its support for the Philippines as we continue to wage war against the virus. China is also willing to donate a significant volume of Sinopharm vaccines, on top of our outright purchases, just to make sure that we have adequate contingency supplies to supplement our available stock.”

To date, MKG Universal Drugs has already submitted its formal request, as well as other supporting documents, in compliance with the FDA’s requirement for emergency use authorization (EUA), and optimistically awaits the agency’s results at the soonest possible time.