The Department of Agriculture (DA) will review a request to grant emergency use authorization (EUA) for the African Swine Fever (ASF) vaccine from Vietnam, Agriculture Secretary Francisco “Kiko” Tiu Laurel Jr. said on Thursday, Oct. 3.
But he noted that the authorization would depend on President Marcos declaring the current ASF outbreak a national emergency.
Currently, the ASF vaccine is under monitored release as granted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to the manufacturer.
“We will study their request, which will allow greater access to the ASF vaccine for backyard piggeries,” Laurel said in a statement.
The agency explained that the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), as defined by the US Food and Drug Administration, is a mechanism intended to expedite the availability and use of medical countermeasures, such as vaccines, during public health emergencies.
Recently, a group urged President Marcos to declare the African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak a national emergency to allow the widespread use of vaccines currently in controlled trials by the Department of Agriculture (DA) through the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI).
The group highlighted that the same vaccine had been previously tested in Vietnam and the Philippines, yielding “favorable results.”
As such, they pointed out that in recent vaccinations carried out by the DA and BAI in Lobo, Batangas, 34 piglets exhibited a 40 percent antibody response.
The ASF vaccine was first administered in Lobo, Batangas on Aug. 30 wherein small-hold and backyard hog-raisers were prioritized.
For the controlled use of the ASF vaccine, the government has allocated 10,000 doses for Batangas province.
It can be recalled that the Philippine government has allocated ₱300 million to purchase 600,000 doses of the ASF vaccine from Vietnam.
ASF resurfaced in the Philippines in 2019, spreading to more than 3,800 barangays across 53 provinces by mid-2022. This led to a nearly 25 percent decline in local pork production from June to October 2021 versus the same period in 2020.