Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion said the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) plan to make the Covid-19 vaccine commercially available through Certificates of Product Registration (CPR) will greatly help in the country’s transition out of the pandemic. “The FDA’s efforts to expedite the granting of CPRs will further promote vaccinations in the Philippines,” he said. “These are in line with what we in the Advisory Council of Experts (ACE) have recommended to the President back in July,” he said.
 
FDA Director General Dr. Samuel Zacate said in a statement last August 16 that it will “promote the streamlining of the approval and evaluation of the Covid-19 vaccines.” The FDA explained that under the initiative, named Taskforce Edward, the vaccines that will be approved and issued with Certificates of Product Registration (CPR) will be more readily available and accessible in FDA-licensed drug establishments.
 
It will be recalled that Concepcion, along with a group comprising medical doctors, scientists and academics comprising the country’s foremost authorities on public health, molecular biology, disaster resilience, data insight and analysis, and economics, recommended to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. the adoption of several measures as part of the country’s pandemic strategy. Among the recommendations was the prioritization of the granting of CPRs to make the vaccines commercially available.
 
Covid vaccines are currently available through Emergency Use Authorization while the country is still under a State of Public Health Emergency, which, unless extended by the President, will expire this September.
 
As of August 21, only one Covid-19 vaccine manufacturer has applied for a CPR. The FDA said it continues to encourage other vaccine manufacturers to apply for a CPR.
 
“We at ACE are happy that one by one our recommendations to the President are being considered. These recommendations are based on science and data, and take into account the urgency that is needed in taking action so our country can safely transition to normalcy and continue to keep the economy afloat,” he said.