DOH: Certificate of analysis needed for Taguig, other areas to resume use of Sinovac jabs

The use of Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine in Taguig City and other areas may resume once the Chinese drugmaker submits a certificate of analysis (COA) for its latest shipment, the Department of Health (DOH) said Tuesday.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire explained that the COA certifies that the delivered vaccines are of good quality.

The latest shipment of 1 million doses from Sinovac arrived in the country on Monday.

“The COA coming from the manufacturer, especially for Sinovac, usually comes in later,” Vergeire said in a briefing. “Kailangan inaantay natin ‘yan bago ma-administer o ibigay sa ating mga kababayan [ang bakuna].”

(We need to wait for the COA before the vaccines are administered.)

The local government of Taguig earlier announced that it would temporarily suspend the use of Sinovac shots pending the DOH’s approval of doses currently stored in the city’s cold chain facility.

Vergeire assured the public that the Sinovac vaccine will still be effective even if they don’t get their second dose exactly 28 days after their first shot.

“Ayon po sa ating (According to our) Vaccine Expert Panel, you can have your second dose about three to six months after,” she said.

“Pero ‘wag ninyo namang patatagalin (But don’t delay it)… In order for you to get that full protection, kailangan may second dose ka at agad agad, ‘pag ikaw ay naka-schedule na, kunin mo na (You need a second dose so get it on schedule),” she added.

In an interview over GTV's Balitanghali, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director General Eric Domingo said certificate of analysis is needed before using vaccines because it ensures the "sterility and quality of vaccines are guaranteed."

He further explained that sterility testing, which makes sure that there are no outside germs from the vaccines, takes about 14 days.

"Kapag ginawa na yung bakuna, saka kukuha ng samples sa batch na yun tapos itetest sa content niya (Once vaccines are made, samples will be retrieved from that batch.) Yung content niya one to two days pero sterility testing it takes 14 days. (Content takes one to two days but sterility takes 14 days.)," Domingo said when asked about the delays on issuance of the certifcate of analysis.

The Philippines has inoculated more than 7.5 million individuals as of June 27, 2.5 million of whom have been fully vaccinated. The country aims to jab 50 million to 70 million people this year.— with Consuelo Marquez/AOL/RSJ, GMA News