PH seeks other sources of trial Covid-19 drugs as India cases surge
WITH India, one of the Philippines’ biggest suppliers of COVID-19 drugs, battling a surge in cases, the Department of Health (DOH) yesterday said the Philippines is seeking other sources of investigational drugs.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the National Task Force Against COVID-19 is leading efforts to find other suppliers of tocilizumab and remdesivir.
“So ngayon, nakikipag-usap tayo sa major supplier sa Switzerland ng tocilizumab. As for remdesivir, we have spoken to all of the suppliers here in the country at nakikipag-usap din po tayo dahil nga po naputol ‘yung major supplier natin for this drug. India had been one of the major sources of our drugs, especially for these investigational drugs,” she said.
Earlier, the Department of Health said the delivery of coronavirus vaccines from India could face delays due to the spike in cases there.
Eight million doses of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin are expected by the end of May while another 30 million doses of the Novavax jab will be delivered later this year.
The country has now seen 204,832 deaths in total from the coronavirus pandemic, although many experts suspect that the true toll is higher.
