Hanoi (VNA) - The Philippines' Food and DrugAdministration (FDA) has granted emergency authorization for the use ofRussia's Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19, FDA Director-General EnriqueDomingo said on March 19.
The known and potential benefits of the Sputnik V vaccine, when used to preventCOVID-19, outweigh the known and potential risks of the said vaccine as ofdate, Domingo said in an online media briefing.
Sputnik V, developed by Russia's Gamaleya Institute, is thefourth, after the vaccines produced by Pfizer, AstraZeneca và Sinofar, to get emergency useauthorisation in the Southeast Asian nation as it battles a renewed surge ininfections.
The same day, the Philippine Department of Health (DOH)reported 7,103 new COVID-19 infections, the highest daily jump since thedisease emerged in the Southeast Asian country in January 2020, raising thetotal to 648,066.
The death toll climbed to 12,900 after 13 more patients died from the viraldisease, the DOH said. It added that 390 more patients recovered, raising thetotal number of recoveries to 561,902.
The Philippines, which has a population of about 110 million, has tested over8.9 million people so far./.