Using two different COVID-19 vaccines on an individual not recommended —DOH

Using two different brands of COVID-19 vaccine to complete the needed two doses is not recommended, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Friday.

"You would not want to toy with the idea of giving different vaccines for the simple reason that if an adverse event following immunization does happen, or an adverse event of special interest, we are going to struggle to identify which of these two different vaccines must have caused it," Duque told the Senate Committee of the Whole, in response to Senate President Vicente Sotto III query.

Dr. Lulu Bravo, chairperson of the Philippine Medical Association's Adhoc Committee on Vaccination, also advised against such practice.

"This is not recommended. Interchangeability, that's what we call it, is actually a no-no because no company will be willing to do a study on that kind of process," she said.

"Most of the results that we will get, if this will be done will not really be based on standard procedures," she added.

Only the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech has secured emergency use authorization from the Philippine Food and Drug Administration so far. The results of the EUA application of AstraZeneca is expected to be within the month too. —KBK, GMA News