The Food and Drug Administration is optimistic that it will issue its decision on the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) application of British vaccine AstraZeneca this week.

FDA chief Eric Domingo told CNN Philippines that a ‘favorable’ decision will be coming out tomorrow or within the week.

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“Our experts had a list of questions for AstraZeneca. So there was a reply. We gave recommendations yesterday. They’re quite positive, favorable. We’re just going to look at the data now, hopefully finish it today or tomorrow,” Domingo said.

When asked on the chances of getting an approval, Domingo said that so far the British vaccine received positive reviews from experts.

“But it’s really a favorable recommendation from the panels. AstraZeneca has EUA from UK, their regulatory agency. We got info from that. So that’s why it was shorter, 21 days. Experts have seen it. So we’re just asking local questions,” he added.

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The FDA is also reviewing the application of Russia’s Gamaleya or the manufacturer of the Sputnik V vaccine. There is also a pending application from Chinese vaccine manufacturer Sinovac.

The first batch of COVID-19 vaccines from Sinovac is expected to arrive on February 20. The FDA says that they expect a decision on the Chinese-made vaccine 2-3 weeks from now.

So far, the regulatory body has issued an EUA to Pfizer and BioNTech. (TDT)