The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) confirmed the inclusion of the city of Bacolod in the upcoming clinical trial of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Rowena Guevara, Undersecretary for Research and Development of the DOST, said Bacolod will be part of late stage clinical trial of Janssen Pharmaceutica, a subsidiary of American conglomerate Johnson & Johnson that developed vaccine candidate JNJ-78436735. But no definite date was provided for the start of the trial.
Aside from Bacolod, DOST said the city of Iloilo was also identified for the Janssen’s clinical trial.
It was in December 29, 2020 when the Food and Drug Administration approved the Phase 3 clinical trial application of Janssen’s COVID-19 vaccine.
Clinical trials are designed to evaluate safety and efficacy based on a complete view of all participants and their experiences, Janssen’s said in a statement.
Other trials are also set to be conducted around the country by Clover Biopharmaceuticals and Sinovac Biotech.
Two weeks ago, the Bacolod City government has signed a multilateral agreement and confidentiality agreement with AstraZeneca on the availment of 650,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine that would cover 325,000 residents.
