Philippines approves emergency use of Russia’s Sputnik Light vaccine

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PHOTO-A SHEET shows boxes containing vials with the Sputnik Light vaccine for a dose of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a vaccination center in a market in the city of Moscow, Russia, on June 30 of 2021. REUTERS / Tatyana Makeyeva

  • Sputnik Light is the ninth approved vaccine in the Philippines
  • In the Philippines, a dose order of 10 million will be monitored
  • Millions not yet vaccinated, vulnerable to COVID-19

MANILA, Aug. 23 (Reuters) – The Philippines has approved the emergency use of Russia’s Sputnik Light COVID-19 vaccine, the country’s head of vaccine acquisition said Monday, becoming one of the first Asian countries to approve single-dose vaccine.

The approval by the Philippine food and medicine agency will allow the country to track its order of 10 million doses, Carlito Galvez, a retired general in charge of the state, told a news conference. government vaccine acquisition.

The government expects vaccine manufacturers to increase deliveries in September and October, Galvez said.

Mongolia and Kazakhstan have approved Sputnik Light, developed by the Gamaleya Institute of Russia.

Sputnik Light is the ninth COVID-19 vaccine approved by the Philippines, along with vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and China’s Sinovac and Sinopharm.

Philippine authorities have said the deployment of vaccines is key to the recovery of the Southeast Asian country’s economy. The Philippines was one of the fastest growing economies in Asia before the pandemic, but contracted with a record 9.6% in 2020.

To date, the Philippines has completely vaccinated 17.26 million people, leaving much of its 110 million people vulnerable to the highly contagious variant of the Delta.

Report by Neil Jerome Morales Edited by Ed Davies and James Pearson

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