AstraZeneca vaccine in Philippines separate from challenged batch –FDA

A Philippine Food and Drug Administration official on Saturday said the AstraZeneca vaccine that arrived in the country was not from the same batch that have reportedly caused blood clots in some European countries.

“We confirmed with AstraZeneca that the doses that arrived in the country are from a different batch, so it is not part of the batch being probed...,” FDA director-general Eric Domingo said in an interview on "Dobol B TV."

“The benefit outweighs the risk, that’s why we decided to continue using the [AstraZeneca] vaccines,” Domingo added.

According to the Department of Health and the FDA, countries such as Denmark and Norway only halted their AstraZeneca rollout as a precautionary measure while they investigate the blood clot incident and reported death that followed vaccination. 

Austria has also suspended a batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine after one person died, and another fell ill after receiving the shot.

Since the incidents, the European Medicine Authority has clarified that there is no sign indicating that the vaccine was responsible for the death.

Also, the World Health Organization said there was no reason to stop using AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine after several countries suspended the rollout over blood clot fears.

Citing findings from its vaccines advisory committee, the WHO stressed that there was no causal link established between the vaccine and clotting.

So far, the Philippines has received 525,600 AstraZeneca doses from the COVAX Facility, a global initiative for equitable vaccine distribution.

AstraZeneca doses were rolled out over the weekend.

Moreover, Domingo clarified that while different batches of AstraZeneca vaccine share the same process of manufacturing as well as components, the two specific batches which reportedly caused blot clots in Europe are being investigated to determine what could have happened during its manufacturing or if there are any untoward incidents that caused the side effects.

Likewise, the FDA chief said that so far the government has vaccinated 14,000 people in the Philippines.

“Most of them are Sinovac, around 12,000; and 2,000 AstraZeneca,” Domingo said, adding, “The adverse events reported were less than 2% and most of them are mild side effects.” —LBG, GMA News