PH to still use AstraZeneca vaccine despite blood clot concerns

April 9 ------ The government will continue to administer the AstraZeneca’s coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine despite reports of blood clots. “It doesn’t give us that major indication to stop vaccinations,” said Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire on Wednesday, April 7. Vergeire said that they will await the recommendation of the Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) since the latter have the role to review updates with regards to vaccines.

“The FDA will decide if it will recommend for us to stop temporarily or suspend temporarily or continue on with vaccinations,” said Vergeire. The DOH will also await the official pronouncement from the World Health Organization (WHO). “If WHO would give us the official statement that we should continue on vaccinating, we will be adopting this recommendation because the WHO gets their information from the international scientific committee which are validated and has evidence,” said Vergeire.

In a separate press briefing, the WHO advised countries to still continue to use the AstraZeneca vaccine. “The WHO continues to advise countries to use AstraZeneca considering its very high potential of protecting individuals against severe disease and hospitalization,” said Dr. Soccoro Escalante, coordinator of WHO-Western Pacific Region’s Essential Medicines and Health Technologies. “We continue to strongly recommend that the AstraZeneca vaccine will be used in the Western Pacific Region,” she added.

Meanwhile, Vergeire said that the WHO has committed to deliver the next batch of AstraZeneca vaccines from the COVAX facility. Vergeire said that the second dose of AstraZeneca vaccine can be given by up to 12 weeks. “It was stated in the studies – the longer the interval period between the first and the second dose for this specific vaccine, mas mataas yung nagiging efficacy. So I think this is better for us,” she said. Those who received the first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine in the Philippines are scheduled to receive their second dose by the end of May and the first week of June, according to Vergeire.

The Philippines previously received 525,600 AstraZeneca vaccines from COVAX facility, which were already distributed in the different vaccination sites nationwide.

Source: mb.com.ph