Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines (PPFP) chairperson and AGAP Partylist Rep. Nick Briones asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to expedite the approval of commercial permits for the A-VAC ASF Live vaccine.
Briones said the vaccine could save millions of piglets from the devastating African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak.
He said the FDA’s current protocols are hindering the vaccine’s rollout to affected regions. He said that as of Sept. 6, 2024, ASF had impacted pigs in 14 regions, 31 provinces, 109 municipalities and 472 barangays.
“The financial burden of ASF on hog-raisers and feed millers is immense,” Briones said. “Many are facing bankruptcy due to the disease.”
Briones and his group submitted a letter to Agriculture Secretary Francis Tiu Laurel Jr., requesting the approval of the vaccine.
PPFP official Fritz Chua, who participated in the vaccine trials, confirmed the effectiveness of A-VAC ASF Live. He reported that inoculated piglets in Lobo, Batangas, showed a 40-percent antibody response. Chua expressed optimism that the vaccine’s efficacy would increase to 70 percent to 80 percent after another blood sampling on Sept. 30.
SINAG executive director Jayson Cainglet suggested waiting for six months until the World Organization for Animal Health approves a vaccine, but Briones disagreed, saying “we cannot afford to wait.”
Briones and other stakeholders also signed a manifesto advocating for the emergency and commercial use of the A-VAC ASF Live vaccine and called on the government to declare a state of national emergency to expedite the vaccine’s rollout.
