Published on: September 25, 2024

Update as of 10 October 2024 : The public consultation and appeals period for the HTA Council Preliminary Recommendation on Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccines (PCV) for infants less than 1 year old and children aged 13 to 23 months for catch-up immunization ended on 09 October 2024. Since there were valid appeals received, re-evaluation is currently ongoing.

Published 25 September 2024

As of 20 September 2024, the Health Technology Assessment Council (HTA Council) has completed the evidence appraisal on the assessment of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccines (PCV) for Infants less than 1 year old and children aged 13 to 23 months for catch-up immunization. The HTA Council assessed the following PCV products for this reassessment: 

  • Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Conjugate Vaccine (Adsorbed) [PCV10-GSK]
  • Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Conjugate Vaccine (Adsorbed) (10-valent) [PCV10-SII]
  • Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine, 13-Valent (adsorbed) [PCV13] 
  • Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Conjugate Vaccine, 15 Valent (Adsorbed)

As such, the HTA Council hereby makes public the following preliminary recommendations, for stakeholder comments: 

The HTA Council recommends the inclusion in the Philippine National Formulary (PNF) and government financing of PCV with the same minimum S. pneumoniae serotypes as those recommended by the HTA Council in 2020: 1, 4, 5, 6B, 7F, 9V, 14, 18C, 19A, 19F, 23F. Maintaining the same minimum serotypes will allow the National Immunization Program (NIP) with more options which will: 

  • enable more flexibility in the selection of PCVs that can address changes in the prevalent serotypes in the country through time, and meet programmatic considerations and,
  • allow further competition to drive down the cost of PCVs.

Further, the HTA Council recommends for the Department of Health to:

  • strengthen the surveillance of S. pneumoniae serotypes in the country to guide the program in the yearly procurement of PCV products; and,
  • consider program requirements and preferences to optimize its implementation (e.g.,  inclusion of vaccine vial monitors and availability in multi-dose preparation).

The HTA Council recommendation was based on the currently available evidence with respect to the evaluation criteria provided for by the Universal Health Care Act.

Supporting evidence and discussions  that informed the recommendation of the HTA Council, as well as the advisory for this recommendation can be found below. All comments, inputs, and/or appeals may be submitted until 09 October 2024 (Wednesday) for the consideration of the HTA Council, through email at hta@dost.gov.ph.

Please use the prescribed form for appeals indicated in the HTA Philippines website [https://hta.dost.gov.ph/appeals-2/]. Appeals not following the prescribed format, and those submitted beyond the deadline shall not be entertained.

Should you have any questions or concerns regarding the preliminary recommendation, please do not hesitate to contact us via email at hta@dost.gov.ph or via telephone call via 8651 7800 loc 2410.   

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