Bangkok, May 5 (EFE).- The Philippines authorized Tuesday the emergency use of the Moderna vaccine against Covid-19, which allows it to be included in the immunization plan of Rodrigo Duterte's government, which has suffered many delays.

"After a rigorous and comprehensive review by experts and physicians of the currently available data, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) grants authorization for the emergency use of the Moderna vaccine," Eric Domingo, head of the food and drug administration, said in an online Tuesday press conference.

Domingo said the efficacy rate of this vaccine from the American company is 94 percent against Covid-19 and that the benefits of its use are greater than the known and potential risks.

The Philippines has placed an initial order for 200,000 Covid-19 injections from the US pharmaceutical giant and expects to receive it in June; although in total they count on achieving some 20 million Moderna vaccines, which will be used between public and private vaccination programs.

So far, the Philippines has administered 2 million injections and 1.7 million Filipinos have received the first dose while 320,500 have both in a country with 110 million inhabitants.

The government aims to vaccinate 70 million people before the end of the year to achieve herd immunity in the Philippines, which is currently suffering the worst phase of the pandemic and accumulating more than a million infections.

To meet that goal, the Philippines hopes to accelerate its vaccination plan this month when it receives another 4.5 million doses of Sinovac, 2 million of Gamaleya and 1.3 million of AstraZeneca and 2.3 million of Pfizer. EFE

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