Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 12)— The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday expressed hope that the Philippines can tap more volunteers for its solidarity trials on potential coronavirus vaccines.
During the Laging Handa media briefing, Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe, WHO representative in the Philippines, said the global body is hoping that up to 4,000 participants can join the solidarity trials in the country, which are eyed to begin by the end of the month.
“WHO was hoping that there will be up to 4,000 participants from the Philippines,” he said. “I understand now that the Philippines is looking at 2,000 – 3,000 participants joining the trial.” The Health Department had said that 1,110 subjects have earlier been recruited for the trials, 563 from public hospitals.
“We are hoping that that number could be increased because the larger the number of people being trialed, the sooner we could get evidence of its efficacy, safety,” he added.
WHO protocol states that volunteers should be between the ages of 18 and 60 years old. Pregnant women as well as individuals with comorbidities will be excluded from the trials, the health official noted.
Abeyasinghe added that the Philippines has so far identified 10 vaccine trial sites— nine in Metro Manila and one in Cebu.
The DOH, for its part, said the government has identified 12 hospitals for the trials, adding that participants will come from barangays or villages with the highest number of virus cases based on “attack rate.”
The WHO, however, clarified that the organization is still finalizing the list of candidate vaccines.
“We are now looking at 42 products that are in late stage clinical trials,” Abeyasinghe said. “Of those, about eight or nine are close to meeting the requirements.”
“What is good about the solidarity trials is that it’s a rolling mechanism, so as vaccines that potentially meet the requirements become available, they could be included in the trials even at the later date.”
The solidarity trial of the WHO is a multi-country clinical study for potential treatments for COVID-19. A budget of ₱89 million has been allocated by the Philippine government for its participation.
