Coronavirus: Philippines approves Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, New Zealand allows some international students to return

Manila’s authorisation of Pfizer-BioNTech shot comes as President Duterte defends China-made vaccines, saying ‘the Chinese are not lacking in brains’

Meanwhile, Australia says it has confidence in the AstraZeneca vaccine, and New Zealand will allow 1,000 university students return to the country

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People ride past a mural reminding residents in Manila to wear face masks. Photo: Reuters

Published: 10:16am, 14 Jan 2021Updated: 10:44pm, 14 Jan 2021

The Philippines’ Food and Drug Administration on Thursday said it had authorised the emergency use of the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE.

The Pfizer-BioNTech shot, which has shown a 95 per cent success rate, is the first vaccine the Philippines has approved.

The move came a day after President Rodrigo Duterte defended his government’s decision to purchase Chinese-made coronavirus vaccines, saying they were as good as the shots developed by the Americans and the Europeans.

“The Chinese are not lacking in brains,” Duterte said in a late-night televised address on Wednesday. “The Chinese are bright. They would not venture (into producing vaccines) if it is not safe, sure and secure.”

Duterte made the remarks as questions have been raised over the level of protection Sinovac Biotech’s experimental Covid-19 vaccine can provide, after researchers in Brazil released late-stage clinical data showing efficacy that was lower than initially announced.

At least one Philippine senator, Francis Pangilinan, called on the government to cancel the purchase of the Sinovac vaccine, one of seven it is lining up as it plans to begin immunisations next month.

Manila has locked in 25 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine, with the first 50,000 expected to arrive in February.