THE vaccine against African Swine Fever (ASF) will soon be available for commercial use in the Philippines.
This was disclosed by the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) following confirmation from Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. during an event in Calbayog City, Eastern Samar, on Thursday.
Sec. Laurel added that the commercial trial for the vaccines will be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in two weeks.
“Approval for the swine vaccine is about to come out,” said Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr., DA.
Following this, commercial distribution for the said vaccine will commence. The DA expects these vaccines to halt the spread of ASF in the Philippines.
The secretary emphasized the close cooperation between the FDA and DA in this regard. Sec. Laurel also mentioned that the vaccine, originating from Vietnam, is truly effective, expressing confidence that it will address the ASF issue.
Meanwhile, Laurel emphasized the DA’s goal to strengthen the monitoring of imported goods entering the country.
“We need to monitor this because before we didn’t have ASF, we didn’t have bird flu. We should focus on the gates, and after that, internally,” stated Laurel.
It is noted that ASF, a disease capable of spreading and proving fatal to both farm-raised and wild pigs, has caused severe damage to the swine industry.
