DOH vows no wastage of AstraZeneca vaccines

The 525,600 AstraZeneca vaccine doses that arrived over the weekend will be rolled out before their expiry in May, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said Friday.

“The vaccines that were delivered to us, those will expire at the end of May but we have strategies in place. The second dose can be given [after] four weeks to twelve weeks,” she said in a mix of English and Filipino during a briefing.

Vergeire explained that no COVID-19 vaccine has an expiration date longer than six months.

“The manufacturers know that our situation is evolving and they might need to make changes to their vaccines,” she said.

As of March 10, out of the 114,615 individuals who have been inoculated in the Philippines, 12,788 got the AstraZeneca jab and 101,827 got the Sinovac vaccine.

The AstraZeneca doses have been distributed to Metro Manila, Cordillera, Ilocos region, and Calabarzon after the additional batch was delivered on Sunday.

The DOH and the Food and Drug Administration have said the Philippines will proceed with the rollout of AstraZeneca vaccines since there is currently no indication that it caused the blood clots reported in some European countries.

Eighty-five minor side effects and one serious adverse event have been recorded following vaccination with the AstraZeneca shot.—AOL, GMA News