Persons who have received the coronavirus vaccines will not be exempted from the country’s strict testing and quarantine protocols upon arrival in the Philippines.
The latest decision was reached by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) during a meeting Tuesday as vaccine distribution has started in some countries.
“Any individual arriving in the Philippines who may have received vaccination for COVID-19 in other countries/jurisdictions shall still be required to observe the mandatory testing and quarantine protocols,” Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in a statement Wednesday.
Local regulators have yet to give any emergency use approval to experimental coronavirus vaccines in the country although some public officials and military personnel have reportedly taken the unregistered drugs.
So far, American drugmaker Pfizer is the only vaccine company that has a pending emergency use authorization (EUA) application before the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
A decision on the application may be released next week.
According to FDA director general Eric Domingo, United Kingdom-based AstraZeneca is expected to apply for EUA in the next few days.
The World Health Organization recently issued its first emergency use approval for the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer/BioNTech, which is reportedly 95 percent effective after two doses.
The latest WHO actions sought to help countries without regulatory processes to gain access to the vaccine.
Some potential coronavirus vaccines have also been given emergency use approval in countries like the United States and United Kingdom.
Another vaccine, developed by Sinopharm, became the first to be given general use approval by China.
