DOH chief approves booster for covid

[Old55]

7 minutes ago, GeoffH said:

Are the Philippines using Sinopharm as well as Sinovac?  Or is the only Chinese vaccine Sinovac?

Sinopharm is basically the same technology as Astra Zeneca and has a similar efficacy.

Not sure about Sinopharm Geoff. 

Our family helper has Sinovac the Family all have Moderna.  Mamma and Papa are 80's & 90's so we worry about their exposure. 

[GeoffH]

1 minute ago, Old55 said:

Our family helper has Sinovac the Family all have Moderna.  Mamma and Papa are 80's & 90's so we worry about their exposure. 

So far all of the family in CDO have had Sinovac, there are rumors of Pfizer but it was never available when they went.

At least they're vaccinated, even Sinovac protects pretty well against serious disease (and if you get a bad cough well that's not the end of the world).

[hk blues]

1 hour ago, GeoffH said:

Are the Philippines using Sinopharm as well as Sinovac?  Or is the only Chinese vaccine Sinovac?

Sinopharm is basically the same technology as Astra Zeneca and has a similar efficacy.

IIRC, it's basically the AZ vaccine but manufactured in India.  There were issues in the EU and the UK regarding it's acceptance but it's now been recognised although not actually used in the UK.  It's been approved for use here and China donated 750,000 doses in August so I'm sure it's being used here now.

In my area, they are using AZ, Pfizer, Moderna and Sinovac. I'm getting my 2nd shot of AZ tomorrow actually. 

[jimeve]

3 hours ago, GeoffH said:

At least they're vaccinated, even Sinovac protects pretty well against serious disease (and if you get a bad cough well that's not the end of the world).

I can vouch for that, had the sinovax 2 jabs.2 months later tested positive for covid-19, I went home and self isolated for 3 weeks.

Had the fever for a week and a chesty cough, nothing serious. Sinovax kept me out of hospital.

[scott h]

28 minutes ago, jimeve said:

I can vouch for that, had the sinovax 2 jabs.2 months later tested positive for covid-19, I went home and self isolated for 3 weeks.

Had the fever for a week and a chesty cough, nothing serious. Sinovax kept me out of hospital.

Same here!

 

[Jollygoodfellow]

3 hours ago, Old55 said:

Not sure about Sinopharm Geoff. 

I dont believe so. Lots of vaccine in the county now so can be picky perhaps depending on ones location. Another 890k donated Astra arrived today. Seems to me they are having a hard time getting rid of it all as they had Moderna almost expired but managed to give away in time. Think it was take one and get one free offer, for free.

When I got my second shot 2 days ago it was busy until about 10.30 then seemed to be dropping in numbers quickly. Pretty well organised and would have been quicker for me except held back because of high blood pressure but others were moving through the process rather quickly. 

[GeoffH]

14 hours ago, hk blues said:

IIRC, it's basically the AZ vaccine but manufactured in India. 

 

The Indian licensed Astra Zeneca vaccine is called Covaxin, Sinopharm is a different vaccine.

 

Sinopharm however is a Chinese designed and made vaccine that uses viral vector technology like AZ.

And trials showed similar efficacy to AZ, which is reasonable as they're similar vaccines using similar delivery methods.

It has been given WHO emergency use authorization I understand.

 

(like Pfizer and Moderna are similar RNA vaccines and have broadly similar efficacy).

 

 

[Mike J]

2 minutes ago, GeoffH said:

 

The Indian licensed Astra Zeneca vaccine is called Covaxin, Sinopharm is a different vaccine.

 

Sinopharm however is a Chinese designed and made vaccine that uses viral vector technology like AZ.

And trials showed similar efficacy to AZ, which is reasonable as they're similar vaccines using similar delivery methods.

It has been given WHO emergency use authorization I understand.

 

(like Pfizer and Moderna are similar RNA vaccines and have broadly similar efficacy).

 

 

According to this news article  Sinopharm is now available here.

https://www.rappler.com/nation/china-donates-sinopharm-covid-19-vaccine-doses-philippines-august-20-21-2021

(2nd UPDATE) The first batch of 739,200 doses arrives in the Philippines on August 20, while a second shipment is scheduled to arrive on August 21

The Philippine government received over 700,000 doses of Sinopharm’s coronavirus vaccine from China on Friday, August 20.

The first batch of 739,200 doses arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport past 5 pm, while a second shipment is scheduled to arrive on Saturday, August 21, to bring the total to a million doses.

The additional doses come as the number of infections continued to rise in the country, with new cases reaching its highest count in the pandemic so far on August 20. 

Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian said the donated vaccines were part of Beijing’s pledge to “substantively increase” supply in the Philippines. To date, majority of vaccine doses made available to Filipinos in the government’s vaccine drive have been from China. 

Like China’s first donation of Sinovac doses, President Rodrigo Duterte had been expected to grace the arrival of Beijing’s latest vaccine delivery but he could not be physically present because he had to preside overa meeting of the government's coronvirus task force.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III welcomed the donation with Huang.

Duterte later accepted the vaccines in a virtual call with Huang, saying the Philippines received China’s donation with “high hopes.” He also urged Filipinos to get vaccinated. 

The Philippine leader touted the shared doses as a reflection of the “deep, strong relations between the Philippines and China.” Under Duterte’s leadership, Manila has fostered warmer ties with Beijing. 

“May I request His Excellency Ambassador Huang Xilian to convey to President Xi Jinping my deepest gratitude and many, many thanks for China’s attitude to us. That even though in these challenging times of geopolitics, Philippines will stay neutral and remain true to what we have guaranteed China at least during my term,” Duterte said.

Duterte had often expressed preference for Sinopharm's vaccine, and on several occasions shared his heartfelt gratitude to Chinese President Xi Jinping as well as his “great debt” to China.

So far, the Philippines has not procured any Sipopharm vaccines, nor has it entered formal negotiations to buy them. The government has secured about 140 million vaccines from Sinovac, Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, Novavax, and the Gamaleya Research Institute. 

Despite this, Sinopharm had been used in the Philippines as early as mid-2020 by the President’s close-in security, as well as some lawmakers, and Cabinet officials. 

Earlier this year, Duterte had also received Sinopharm’s vaccine himself, despite the lack of the required emergency use authorization (EUAs) from the Philippines' Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

[hk blues]

2nd dose of AZ for me today - arrived around 7:20am and we were amongst the 1st 40 - all done and dusted by 9:20am so pretty efficient.

No issues or complaints at all about how they organised both doses - 9.9/10.