Thread by @cnnphilippines

THREAD: The House Committee on Health holds its first deliberation on the country's COVID-19 vaccination program | LIVE bit.ly/2XQt2Xi

Updates by our digital producers @gleefjalea and @mrvinceangelo

Resource persons for today's hearing include Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, Health Spokesperson Rosario Vergeire, FDA Director General Eric Domingo, and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez, Jr.

Health committee chair Helen Tan: We cannot afford to make mistakes in our critical juncture in this fight against the pandemic. We need to be on time in our inoculation drive, build the trust and confidence of the public

Rep. Tan: The government should be guided in its principles in delivering the vaccine program. They should be based on science, independent regulatory review and advise of regulatory experts. Transparency is essential

Rep. Tan: Misinformation threatens public health and safety by undermining confidence in science, vaccines, and public health authorities. Messaging should be informative and designed to support public confidence

LOOK: Vaccine czar Galvez gives a presentation on the country's vaccination roadmap

Vaccine czar Galvez: We can start our rollout for this first quarter in February, with the rollout of Pfizer, AztraZeneca, Sinovac and Gamaleya, Covax

Vaccine czar Galvez says the country's COVID-19 vaccines will mostly come from Novovax, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Sinovac, and Gamaleya

Vaccine czar Galvez gives a recap on how vaccines are developed and approved by regulatory bodies: Vaccines have to go stringent regulatory process before they are proven safe and effective

Vaccine czar Galvez says they will use the WHO Solidarity Trial on vaccines as an 'observation rehearsal' for the rollout of the country's vaccination program

Vaccine czar Galvez: More than 80% of the global supply has been pre-procured by other countries. We are trying our best to negotiate with other vaccines to get a fair share of the remaining supply

Vaccine czar Galvez says Pfizer was the first to apply for emergency use authorization in the country (December 23), followed by AstraZeneca, Gamaleya (January 7), and Sinovac (January 13)

Vaccine czar Galvez: Manufacturing companies volunteered that their product will be sold with very minimal profit margin

Vaccine czar Galvez: Under EUA po, ang mga vaccine maker ay authorized lang pong lumapit with the government

Vaccine czar Galvez: The national government earmarked ₱82.5 billion for the vaccine procurement; with ₱70 billion from loans, ₱2.5 billion from 2021 GAA, and ₱10 billion from the Bayanihan 2

Vaccine czar Galvez says the Philippines will procure its target of 148 million vaccine doses from 7 companies: We are not favoring anyone, any brand, or any country

Vaccine czar Galvez: We are assuring the public that we have a fair mix of vaccine options. Only vaccines endorsed by the vaccine expert panel can be purchased.

Vaccine czar Galvez: DOH is now partnering with the private sector to ensure that delivery of the vaccines is unhampered

Vaccine czar Galvez presents challenges encountered in the vaccine strategy of other countries in terms of allocation, distribution and communication

DOH Sec. Duque now presenting the department's COVID-19 vaccination plan and deployment

DOH Sec. Duque: Makakamit natin ang herd immunity ngayong taon if there is enough global [vaccine] supply

DOH Sec. Duque on vacination program: Nakapag-training na po tayo ng health care workers para ihanda sila sa implementasyon ng ating programa

DOH Sec. Duque says there will be a coordinated vaccine safety response, oversight mechanism in national, regional and local levels

DOH Sec. Duque on vaccine storage: Meron na po tayong kapasidad na i-accommodate ang 2°C and 8°C and -20°C

DOH Sec. Duque says they will create an online platform to generate the list of all priority groups that will be inoculated against COVID-19

DOH Sec. Duque says the goal is for one vaccination team to inoculate 100 patients per day

DOH eyes installing vaccination sites in public elementary schools, to coordinate with the Department of Education if it's possible

DOH Sec. Duque says their vaccination campaign teams will include a physician, allied professionals, a doctor and a volunteer documenter; and a separate team that will monitor adverse effects to look after those who will be inoculated

DOH Sec. Duque: Walang pilitan sa pagbabakuna

DOH Sec. Duque: Physical distancing, crowd control measures will be implemented during vaccine administration. The public must bring their pre-registered QR code when going to their vaccination posts

DOH Sec. Duque: For any adverse events after inoculation, we will identify the seriousness which will then be submitted to surveillance units. For serious events, appropriate case management and detailed investigation will be done

Edsel Salvana of DOH Technical Advisory Group says AstraZeneca, Sinovac and Moderna prevent 100% of severe COVID-19, Pfizer prevents 89%. but differences in efficacy depend on population selection, definition of symptoms

DOH-TAG: Pfizer is to known to have 95% efficacy to prevent the clinical disease, Moderna with 94%, AstraZeneca with 62 to 90%, and Sinovac with 50 to 91% efficacy

DOH-TAG bares the different efficacies of COVID-19 vaccines based on trial populations

DOH-TAG: Any vaccine that has the propensity to combat the disease will decrease the people who will die, but Pfizer, Moderna, AtraZeneca, and Sinovac can be deemed effective so far in preventing severe infections.

DOST vaccine expert panel head Nina Gloriani: We use WHO criteria for vaccine prioritization to ensure safety, efficacy, implementation and availability

DOST vaccine expert panel head: All vaccines in the pipeline are continuously monitored and evaluation is updated as necessary

FDA Director General Eric Domingo: For a vaccine candidate with EUA from other stringent regulatory authorities, we try to do everything in 21 days on deciding whether they can be approved

FDA chief Domingo: An EUA is only valid if it is proven effective based on totality of evidence, its known benefits outweigh the known potential risks, and there is no adequate, approved, and available alternative to the drug or vaccine

FDA: Vaccine applicants who have approved EUAs are required to update us on the indications, implications, trials from other countries, and anything that we should watch out for

FDA gives an update on the status of EUA applications of Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Gamaleya, and Sinovac

FDA on Sinovac: Our decision is still based on their Phase 3 results. So we are still asking for the necessary requirements and saka pa lang po ito mae-evaluate.

FDA on deaths in Norway after Pfizer inoculation: As we await the final report of Pfizer and national agencies [in Norway], we can still change the contraindications before we start our vaccination here. Now we know that patients with severe allergies is a contraindication

RELATED: While concerns were raised after over 20 died in Norway after receiving doses from Pfizer, FDA chief Domingo said he was quite optimistic the news would not further dampen vaccine confidence in the Philippines. bit.ly/3bP4QMX

FDA: Every vaccinator is required to obtain free consent from the recipient of the Pfizer vaccine

Health Technology Assessment Council chair Marita Reyes stresses they are an independent recommending agency to DOH for use and procurement of government programs, inclusions of PhilHealth packages

HTAC says they take a programmatic approach on the efficacy of certain vaccines in certain groups, different from the functions of the FDA, which looks at the general population

What are the pros and cons of a vaccine with an EUA?

DOH-TAG: While hindi complete ang safety data, the risk of not waiting for that data is far outweighed by risks of using the vaccine in a population

DOH Sec. Duque on vaccine prioritization: The policy of national prioritization of who will be the vaccine recipients has to be followed by everyone. Even if the private sector has entered the tripartite deal, they are also bound by the same policy.

DOH Sec. Duque: We have to avoid privileged access [to vaccines] as a matter of policy

What is the assurance that a private company or the LGU can get the vaccines that they were allocated for under the national prioritization program? (1/2)

Vaccine czar Galvez: Iyong 50% mapupunta sa business and the other 50% will be given to the national government for sector priority. To ensure equitable access, the DOH will still be the one to administer, in partnership with the LGU or the company (2/2)

DOH Sec. Duque on vaccine preference among Filipinos: Bawat babakunahan ay magkakaroon ng pasya o consent. Kung hindi po sila magpapabakuna dahil may iba silang gustong ibang bakuna ay mahuhuli sila sa listahan.

DOH on vaccine confidence of Filipinos: Kapag nabigyan na ng basbas, wag na po sanang magduda

Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo: The only way for our economy to recover is to have a cost-effective vaccine program

FDA: A vaccine that has a 50% efficacy rate may still be useful in the pandemic. Sa amin, we consider minimum standards, kung pumasa ka sa minimum standards, we give minimum authorization para merong pagpilian.

FDA on Pfizer's side effects: These are common adverse events of vaccines. Wala namang unusual about it. These are regular vaccine reactions

How will national government financially support LGUs in vaccine procurement? (1/2)

Vaccine czar Galvez: Just in case LGUs opted to buy the vaccines, kami po ang bahala sa supplies and who will administer. Wala po tayong cost-sharing. Iyong vaccine sa LGU, pero lahat ng gagastusin sa supplies, gagastusin ng government (2/2)

DOH Sec. Duque on vaccine storage plans: Nakikipag-usap ang DOH sa third party logistic provided na sila ang mamamahala sa storage, warehousing and distribution

Vaccine czar Galvez: Kung ano po ang mauuna, meron po tayong clinical trial for the first week of February, likely Johnson & Johnson. Kung ma-approve po iyong sa COVAX, this will be Pfizer. Susunod po ang Sinovac.

DOH Sec. Duque on possible house-to-house inoculation: Posible pong gagawin natin, kasama po iyan sa pagplano lalo na sa vulnerable, high-risk senior citizens. But this is an exception rather than the rule kasi kailangan nating sundin ang survillance, monitoring of adverse events

Can other essential workers be included in the top priorities for inoculation?

Vaccine czar Galvez: Pwede po kasi flexible naman po tayo. Our prioritization is only a guide. Ang importante lang po masunod natin iyon dahil iyon ang prescribed ng WHO.

DOH Sec. Duque: We will digitalize our system from masterlisting, to reporting of adverse events in immunization. We are working with the DICT in the pre-registration of each vaccine to easily transmit data.

DOH Sec. Duque on vaccination tracking: We aspire for a full digitalized system of our database management kasi may mga lugar na talagang wala (internet). Hindi po maiwasan ang manual way of doing things.

Vaccine czar Galvez: By February 15, prepared na po tayo sa [vaccine] rollout

DOH Sec. Duque: Gagamitin po natin ang mga guro na maging bahagi po sila ng vaccination teams as health educators. Ino-orient po namin sila para sa kanilang papel na gagampanan sa vaccination program.

Vaccine czar Galvez says that quadripartite deal for vaccines is allowed.

Vaccine czar Galvez says that the tourism industry is among the priorities for the COVID-19 recovery plan.

Vaccine czar Galvez says the government is also considering the long-term commitment of the manufacturers and diplomatic relations when it comes to the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines.

Vaccine czar Galvez: Ang strategy po natin ay as long as approved by the WHO standards and by the FDA, ayun po ang kukunin natin.

DOH Usec. Myrna Cabotaje says there could be a special team and special place for the vaccination of individuals who have certain comorbidities.

DOH Usec. Cabotaje says the government has 30 million syringes in its inventory.

She adds that they continue to procure syringes.

FDA says it is coordinating with the Bureau of Customs and PNP on the possible entry of smuggled vaccines in the future.