Philippines should stock up on antivirals, bivalent vaccines vs. COVID-19 —Concepcion

The Philippines should stock up on antiviral medicines and bivalent vaccines to boost the country’s defense amid the recent rise in COVID-19 cases, former Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion said on Tuesday.

In a statement, Concepcion, who is also a member of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s Private Sector Advisory Council, said there are currently two antiviral medicines available through prescription in the country, namely molnupiravir and Paxlovid.

Supply of these antivirals has been unsteady, especially with the number of COVID-19 cases rising in recent weeks, he said.

The country has logged 28,008 new COVID-19 cases from August 8 to August 14, according to the Department of Health (DOH). 

“Antivirals are a way forward considering how vaccinations are going right now and how we have seen cases come and go. We need to bring in antiviral medicines to build up our defenses against Covid,” Concepcion said.

He added that the same planning needs to be done with the bivalent vaccines as these can target both the original strain of the COVID-19 virus and the highly contagious Omicron variant.

“These new formulations will need an EUA (Emergency Use Authorization) if the pharma companies do not obtain their Certificates of Product Registration by the time the State of Public Health Emergency expires,” Concepcion said.

The EUC mechanism allows the use of medical countermeasures which have yet to receive government approval.

Concepcion said the private sector is prepared to step in and enter into another tripartite agreement as it did in 2020 with the “A Dose of Hope” project.

The agreement enabled the Philippines to overcome regulatory roadblocks when COVID-19 vaccines were yet to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Concepcion warned however, that the private sector needs to be assured that this time around, there will be clear parameters on the use of the vaccines, and suggested that the country follow the lead of the countries of reference for the vaccines’ use.

“The important thing is that the inventory must be there when we need it, and we must be already laying the groundwork now,” he said.

Concepcion said antivirals and bivalent vaccines should be part of the plan if the country is to successfully live with COVID-10.

“The first defense is still vaccination, especially the boosters, and this has to become an ongoing activity,” he said.

“Second is the continued wearing of face masks,” he said, noting that “Filipinos remain quite compliant with face mask rules and that surveys have shown that they will continue to wear face masks even after the pandemic is declared over.”

“Third is we need to have antivirals available. Antivirals work if you take them early enough in the illness, and if we prevent people from getting severe illness and being hospitalized or dying, we can learn to manage COVID-19 even as cases go up,” he added. —KG, GMA News