DOST chief vouches for AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine

Science and Technology Secretary Fortunato dela Peña on Monday vouched for AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, saying he did not experience side effects after he was inoculated.

Dela Peña made the announcement three days after the Department of Health and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) temporarily suspended the use of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine on individuals aged 60 and below after the European Medicines Agency reported a very rare blood clot as a side effect.

The DOH and FDA made the decision even if no incident of a blood clot as a side effect of taking AstraZeneca vaccine was reported in the Philippines, and that the EMA found that the blood clot only occurred in 79 cases, including 19 deaths, after 20 million AstraZeneca doses were administered.

“Ibabalita ko na nabakunahan na ako at napakaganda ng aking experience (I have been vaccinated against COVID-19 and I had a very good experience),” Dela Peña said during the Laging Handa briefing.

Asked what vaccine brand he got, the DOST chief replied that it was AstraZeneca.

“I was under the A2 category. Before I got the vaccine, I got slightly nervous, my blood pressure slightly went up but it quickly went normal,” he added.

A2 category covers senior citizens or those aged 60 years old and above.

FDA Director General Eric Domingo said that the suspension of AstraZeneca use in the country will only last for two weeks at the most.

“New guidelines [for AstraZeneca] will be out in maybe two weeks. it is just for precaution so we can review and prepare before the next batch of AstraZeneca vaccines are delivered,” Domingo said in a text message to GMA News Online.

“We want as many vaccines to be used as possible but we have to be careful given the recent findings,” he added.

Based on FDA evaluation, AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is good for 18 years old and above and has an efficacy rate of 70% after the first dose—a rating that increases after the second dose is administered four to 12 weeks after.

At least 525,600 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines have been delivered to the country—all of which were donated by the global initiative COVAX facility.

The Philippines has 146,519 active COVID-19 cases so far.

Of this number, at least 58,000 new COVID-19 cases were recorded in Metro Manila alone in the last two weeks.—AOL, GMA News