MANILA (BLOOMBERG) – The Philippines has approved Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine, the first to be allowed for emergency use in the South-east Asian nation.

The Food and Drug Administration found Pfizer’s vaccine – which has shown a 95 per cent success rate – may be effective to prevent, diagnose or treat Covid-19, and can be used for individuals age 16 years old and up, its head Eric Domingo said in a virtual briefing.

Sinovac Biotech has applied for a similar authority on Wednesday, and the regulator will ask for more clinical trial reports, Mr Domingo said.