The number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the country rose to 182,365 on Friday after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 4,786 new infections.
This marks the fourth consecutive day where more than 4,000 cases were reported.
The regions with the most number of cases were Metro Manila (2,074 or 56 percent of the cases); Region 4A (670 or 18 percent) and Region 3 (259 or 7 percent).
The DOH reported 59 more deaths, bringing total fatalities due to COVID-19 to 2,940.
On the other hand, 616 new recoveries brought to 114,519 the number of patients who have recovered from the disease.
The country has 64,906 active cases undergoing treatment or quarantine. Of these, 91.5 percent are mild, 6.5 percent are asymptomatic, 0.8 percent are severe, and 1.2 percent are in critical condition.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday said it has yet to receive any application from COVID-19 vaccine developers to even start a trial in the Philippines.
Dr. Jesusa Cirunay, director of FDA’s Center for Drug Regulation and Research, told GMA News that normally, it would take about 45 to 60 days to approve an application for a clinical trial but this would be expedited for COVID-19 vaccines.
The approval of the Phase 4 trial or the last stage, on the other hand, will generally take about 70 to 90 more working days, she said.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) has sought the standardization of compensation for people who take part both in the World Health Organization (WHO) Solidarity Trial and independent clinical trials for COVID-19.
This developed after the IATF-EID approved Thursday the recommendations made by its sub-technical working group on vaccine development.
On Wednesday, Science and Technology Undersecretary Rowena Cristina Guevarra floated the possibility that a COVID-19 vaccine might be available in the Philippines by the second quarter of 2021.
Guevarra, chair of the IATF-EID sub-technical working group on vaccine development, said clinical trials in the country would involve the vaccine developed by Russia and others that pre-qualified as part of WHO Solidarity Trial.
Jaime Montoya, executive director of the Department of Science and Technology’s (DOST) Philippine Council for Health Research and Development, said participants of clinical trials should only be those who are healthy.
Montoya also noted that clinical trial participants only get a measly amount of money for the food and transportation as compensation for the time they spend for the trial.
Under the IATF-EID’s Resolution 65, all applications for clinical trials should first be submitted to a vaccine expert panel, reviewed by designated Ethics Boards, and transmitted to the Food and Drug Administration for review and approval.
The IATF-EID also agreed that zoning guidelines on vaccine clinical trials must be issued by the sub-technical working group on vaccine development to avoid competition for sites.
It also directed the local government units to prioritize WHO Solidarity Trial over independent trials.
The Philippines is expected to carry out clinical trials Phase 3 for four or five vaccines that have passed WHO’s pre-qualification process.
The country is also currently in talks with pharmaceutical firms in other countries that are developing Covid-19 vaccines for possible collaborations for clinical trials.
Despite his enthusiasm to get the first shot of Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine, President Rodrigo Duterte will not qualify to participate in the Phase 3 trials, former Health secretary Esperanza Cabral said on Friday.
“All clinical trials have what we call inclusion and exclusion criteria and for this particular Phase 3, he is in the exclusion criteria by virtue of his age as well as other risk factors so he will not be admitted into the clinical trial at all,” Cabral said, during a forum organized by the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines.
“Once the clinical trials are over for the general healthy population, there will be smaller trials for people who are elderly, for people who have heart disease, diabetes… and he can qualify for that smaller trial,” Cabral said.
Duterte, 75, had volunteered to be the first one to try Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine.
Participating in the clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccine is an altruistic deed but it should be voluntary, Cabral said.
“Nobody can be forced to participate in a clinical trial in democratic countries such as ours. The days of trying things out among prisoners and other people who cannot refuse are over or should be over,” Cabral said.
In another online forum on vaccines, Philippine Foundation for Vaccination president Dr. Liza Gonzales said health workers were among those who will be prioritized to join clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines.
Also on Friday, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian urged hospitals to continuously expand their patient capacity for COVID-19 patients.
“My fear really is the capacity of the hospitals to treat patients, especially in the NCR because it is the hotbed,” Gatchalian said.