Stopping the clinical trial of potential Sinovac coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine in the Philippines must be studied first, a health official said Wednesday.

Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire made this reaction following reports that the clinical trial of Sinovac vaccine in Brazil was halted after a volunteer recipient experienced an “adverse effect”.

“Kailangan pag-aaralan pa rin. Hindi porke it was claimed in some country na may adverse effect, immediately i-stop natin (We still need to study this. Not because it was claimed in some countries this has adverse effect, we will just stop),” she said.

Vergeire said the DOH experts have to evaluate first the reported “adverse effect” of the Sinovac vaccine.

“It has to be through that manufacturer also that they will inform us and we will have discussions with them and we will have our experts evaluate this if it is really valid and [the trial] has to be stopped first,” Vergeire said.

The local vaccine experts have already cleared the Sinovac Biotech’s vaccine.

The DOH earlier said the company needs to secure approval from Single Joint Research Ethics Board and the Food and Drug Administration before it can conduct clinical trial. (PNA)