PH gov’t urged to allow emergency use of ASF vaccines

PHOTO FROM AFP/INQUIRER FILES

MANILA, Philippines — Swine industry leaders are urging President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to authorize the emergency use of African Swine Fever (ASF) vaccines.

In a letter to Marcos presented last week to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., pork producers said the emergency use of the ASF vaccine would result in the inoculation of 6.3 million piglets and fasteners.

Emergency use authorization would allow the use of unregistered vaccines in a public health emergency, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

The ASF has affected the country’s pig farming sector since it was first reported in 2019, decreasing the hog population from 12.7 million to 9.9 million in 2023, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.

Last August, the DA purchased 600,000 doses of a Vietnamese-made ASF vaccine. The remaining shipment of 440,000 is expected to arrive this October.

READ: Vietnam to send its swine fever vaccine to Philippines

READ: DA expecting 440,000 ASF vaccines to arrive in Oct

The ASF vaccine is currently for monitored release while it undergoes controlled trials through the Bureau of Animal Industries.

READ: DA targets to finish ASF vaccine procurement by end of 2024

Laurel said the DA would study the proposal to give wider access to the ASF vaccine.