Philippines Clears Sinovac Shots, But Not for Health Workers

The Philippines approved Sinovac Biotech Ltd.’s coronavirus shots for emergency use, paving the way for the nation to get its first vaccine shipment of 600,000 doses possibly within days.

The Chinese developer’s shots may be effective to prevent Covid-19 and can be used for healthy persons ages 18 to 59, Food and Drug Administration head Eric Domingo said. It isn’t recommended for health workers frequently exposed to the virus due to its 50.4% efficacy for this group, he said in a briefing Monday.