Several hog farmers and swine industry groups are seeking the assistance of Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. in convincing President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to approve the emergency use authorization (EUA) of the African Swine Fever (ASF) vaccine from Vietnam instead of Monitored Release (MR) that FDA granted to vaccine supplier.
The Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), as defined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is a mechanism designed to facilitate the availability and use of medical countermeasures, including vaccines, during public health emergencies. This mechanism was notably employed during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing the use of unapproved vaccines to combat the rapidly spreading virus.
Sec. Tiu Laurel indicated that this authorization would depend on President Marcos declaring the current ASF outbreak a national emergency. “We will study their request, which will allow greater access to the ASF vaccine for backyard piggeries,” he stated after meeting with the swine industry groups last week.
In a letter presented to Sec. Tiu Laurel, the group led by AGAP Partylist Rep. Nicanor Briones urged President Marcos to declare the ASF outbreak a national emergency to enable the mass use of vaccines currently undergoing controlled trials by the Department of Agriculture through the Bureau of Animal Industry.
The group said the same vaccine has previously been tested in Vietnam and the Philippines “with favorable results.” They also noted that in recent vaccinations conducted by DA and BAI in Lobo, Batangas, 34 piglets showed 40 percent antibody levels. They expressed hope that future tests would demonstrate an increase in antibodies.
The group stressed that allowing emergency use of the vaccine could inoculate approximately 6.3 million piglets and fatteners, benefiting both commercial and backyard hog raisers, and potentially fostering a full recovery of the swine industry.
Since the ASF virus has severely impacted the local hog industry as early as 2019, the group asserted that backyard farmers, who raise about 3.8 million piglets and fatteners, would be the most significant beneficiaries.
Those who signed the letter to President Marcos along with AGAP are the Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines Inc., Cooperative Union of Batangas, SoroSoro Ibaba Development Cooperative, Luntian Multipurpose Cooperative, LIMCOMA Multipurpose Cooperative, and Cavite Farmers Feedmilling and Marketing Cooperative. ### (DA-Bureau of Animal Industry)
