SCIENCE Secretary Fortunato dela Peña on Tuesday said government is stocking up on the anti-viral drug remdesivir amid efforts to find medicines to prevent, cure, or at least hasten recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Remdesivir, which is sold under the brand name Veklury, is used in the treatment of patients with the Ebola virus and one of the medicines being tested in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.
“Iyon pong remdesivir, maganda rin ang indications. At ang aking nabalitaan ay nag-iipon na ng stock ang DOH para sa Remdesivir (Remdesivir has positive indications. And what I heard is that the Department of Health has started to stock on remdesivir),” Dela Peña said in a virtual briefing.
At the House, the committee on appropriations said it will make sure that vaccination and mass testing will be well-funded under the Executive’s proposed P4.5-trillion national budget for 2021.
National Task Force Against COVID-19 Chief Implementer Carlito Galvez Jr., in a separate briefing, said that apart from remdesivir, the government through the DOH is also stocking on nasal cannula.
“Ang ginagawa po natin ay iyong mga major therapies na nakita natin na naka-save ng lives ay bumibili na po tayo ng mga gamot, like for example iyong remdesivir, at iyong mga tinatawag nating mga cannulas, high flow nasal cannula ay nag i-imbak na rin po tayo (What we are doing is, we are buying major therapies that are saving lives like medicines, like for example remdesivir, and cannulas, high flow nasal cannula and stock piling it),” he said.
Dela Peña said the country has also reserved 3 million vaccine doses, worth some P1.5 billion, through the OVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) facility, to guarantee access to the vaccine.
COVAX is a scheme designed to guarantee fast and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. It is led by the GAVI vaccines alliance, the World Health Organization, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). It aims is to deliver 2 billion doses of effective, approved COVID-19 vaccines by the end of 2021. At least 75 countries have expressed an interest in joining the COVAX.
Dela Pena said it is still not sure if the vaccines would be given in one to two doses, but most vaccines require two doses. He said the estimated cost per vaccine is $10 or P500.
He said the government will shoulder the costs of vaccines for the poor sector or those who are living below the poverty level. He said those who can afford it may need to buy it to be vaccinated.
Dela Peña said the country is talking with five institutions — three of them in China and two in Taiwan — which are doing clinical trials for possible vaccines.
President Duterte has repeatedly talked about efforts of other countries to find a vaccine for COVID-19 and has said he would borrow money, if needed, to ensure the country’s access to these vaccines once commercially available.
The President some of the vaccines may be available by December.
BUDGET
It is not yet clear how much the Executive has allocated for COVID testing and vaccines under the proposed 2021 budget which has yet to be submitted to the House by the Department of Budget and Management.
Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado has said, however, that to improve the health sector, budget priority was given to the establishment of more health facilities; purchase of hospital equipment, test kits and vaccines; ensuring sufficient and efficient deployment of health personnel to address COVID-19 and other infectious diseases; and sustaining funding for the implementation of the Universal Health Care Law.
Last month, lawmakers reiterated their call for the Department of Health to engage in mass testing and step up contract tracing to avoid further spread of the virus which has now infected more than 100,000 people.
ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Eric Yap, chair of the House appropriations committee, said, “We’ll make sure that there are enough funds to beat this pandemic. We need funds for mass testing, vaccines and for the improvement of hospital facilities.”
He said the House is also working to approve the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act 2 to help people cope with the economic effects of the pandemic, including additional benefits for medical professions who are at the frontlines in the fight against the virus.
