Marcos: ASF vaccine procurement underway, rollout by midyear

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (PNA photo by Joan Bondoc)

MANILA – The government is currently in the process of procuring African swine fever (ASF) vaccines and is eyeing to roll out the immunization shots within June or July, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said Tuesday.

“Namimili tayo… Magro-roll out na ng bakuna, siguro Hunyo o Hulyo, mailabas na namin. Dahil hinihintay pa natin ‘yung production ng bakuna sa Vietnam, doon tayo kumukuha at sila ang nakapag develop ng vaccine para sa swine flu (We’re now purchasing the vaccines. We will roll out soon, probably by June or July, we will be able to release the vaccines. We’re just waiting for the production in Vietnam because they are the developer of the vaccines),” Marcos said in a town hall consultation with farmers and fisherfolk in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro.

The country has been grappling with ASF since confirming in 2019 the first outbreak of the animal disease.

The ASF has resulted in a reduction of domestic hog population, causing instability in the pork market in the country.

Last year, the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Animal Industry recommended the AVAC vaccine from Vietnam for the issuance of certificate of product registration from the Food and Drug Administration following positive results of its trial in Luzon.

The testing was done in six areas in Luzon from March to May 2023, with a 100-percent production of antibodies and no reported side effects among four- to 10-week-old hogs.