Philippines extends ban on flights from UK, evaluates emergency use for Pfizer vaccine

MANILA, Dec 26 : Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday extended a ban on flights from the United Kingdom by another two weeks to mid-January in a bid to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus variant.
He also ordered a 14-day quarantine for passengers that came from or transited in the United Kingdom, and from countries where the more infectious COVID-19 variant was detected, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and Japan.
Meanwhile, The Philippines is evaluating the emergency use of Pfizer Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine, the presidential spokesman said on Saturday.
Pfizer was the first company to seek the Philippine regulator’s approval for emergency use of its coronavirus vaccine, Harry Roque, spokesman of President Rodrigo Duterte, said in a statement.
It will take the food and drugs agency 21 days to evaluate and approve the vaccine, he said, adding that inoculation would start as soon as stocks become available.
The Philippines has the second highest number of COVID-19 infections and deaths in Southeast Asia, next to Indonesia.