DOH: Only vaccines that have been approved should be administered

The Department of Health (DOH) has emphasized that it discourages the use of  unregistered vaccines against COVID-19 amid reports that soldiers have been given vaccines that have not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

The DOH issued the statement after Philippine Army Chief Cirilo Sobejana admitted in a radio interview that members of the military were already inoculated with a COVID-19 vaccine even if the Philippines’ FDA has yet to approve a registration for any of the vaccines against the virus.

Asked who ordered such vaccination, Sobejana’s response—which occurred in the same interview—went, “Well, of course our president is our commander in chief ng Armed Forces of the Philippines, ano. I should say that it is from the chain of command of the Armed Forces."

Prior to Sobejana's admission, President Rodrigo Duterte himself spilled the beans that the military has been given the vaccine from Chinese firm Sinopharm.

“DOH maintains that all vaccines should undergo the evaluation and regulatory process of our regulatory and expert bodies. We also reiterate that the use of unregistered products poses harm to a person's health and safety,” the department said.

“This is why only vaccines which have been approved and found to be safe should be administered. The administration of approved vaccines is also accompanied by strict monitoring of all vaccine recipients in order to ensure proper management of possible effects,” it added.

Only American multinational Pfizer has applied for emergency use authorization (EUA) with the Philippines' FDA for the COVID-19 vaccine that it developed with German firm BioNTech.

Pfizer has been issued EUAs in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, and Singapore, among others.

The Philippines has only managed to secure a tripartite COVID-19 vaccine deal with British firm AstraZeneca, with the private sector securing 2.6 million doses of its vaccine—which are administered in two doses—to be donated to the Philippine government. — BM, GMA News