After a review of China’s Sinovac Biotech anti-coronavirus jab, the Philippine vaccine expert panel has approved its use for the elderly upon advice from the country’s drug regulator.
Initially, the Food and Drug Administration only recommended the use of Sinovac’s CoronaVac vaccine for people aged 18 to 59 because its clinical trials lacked elderly participants.
However, the vaccine expert panel reviewed the vaccine’s trial data and found that it had few adverse effects, including pain on the injection site, headache and flu-like symptoms, said the group’s head Dr. Nina Gloriani.
Other countries such as China and Indonesia have also began vaccinating their senior citizens with CoronaVac. According to the data, the antibodies that the elderly produced are “almost the same” as the antibodies of 18 to 59-year-olds, she said.
“Ang maganda doon sa datos na nakita namin ay nakakaprotekta rin sya sa mga matatanda na hindi sila nagkaroon ng severe COVID,” Gloriani said.
She also said the FDA will issue an official statement regarding its use for elderly soon.
