Philippines hopes deaths of 23 Norwegian senior citizens won't affect Pfizer's EUA

Malacañang on Monday said it is hoping that the reported deaths of some senior citizens in Norway after receiving COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer-BionNTech would not affect its emergency use authorization (EUA) in the Philippines.

Interviewed on Unang Balita, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque underscored the importance of giving Filipinos protection from COVID-19 despite the negative report.

“Sana naman hindi naman po [maapektuhan ang EUA ng Pfizer] dahil importante po talaga kahit anong proteksyon ay mabigyan ang ating taumbayan,” he said.

For Roque, all vaccines cannot claim to have 100% safety and efficacy.

“Kaya nga lang po 'yung advantage ng paggamit ng bakuna outweighs the disadvantage,” he said.

“So ‘yun po ang dahilan para mas malaki ‘yung urgency  na mabakunahan laban sa COVID-19 nang maiwasan ang pagkamatay sa COVID-19 kaysa doon sa kanyang possible side effects.”

According to a Norwegian Medicines agency report, 23 Norwegian senior citizens who were vaccinated with Pfizer-BionNTech’s vaccine against COVID-19 had died.

Following this, Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) director general Eric Domingo said that the conditions in EUA may be revised in case a vaccine product shows safety issues.

Assuming that the vaccine has adverse effects, Domingo said that the FDA can indicate in the EUA that the product could not be used in the elderly and people with severe allergies.

"Bago natin magamit ang bakuna na 'yan, madadagdag po natin ngayon 'yan doon sa ating mga contraindications na huwag siyang gamitin sa mga merong severe allergies at siguro possibly mga sobrang matatandang-matatanda,” he said Sunday.

Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said the Philippines will be more cautious in choosing the COVID-19 vaccine to be administered to the elderly after the deaths of the Norwegian senior citizens. —KBK, GMA News