FDA checking batch codes of COVID-19 vaccines amid illegal sale reports —Domingo

Food and Drug Administration chief Dr. Eric Domingo said Sunday that the agency is checking the lot number or batch codes of vaccines against COVID-19 due to reports of unauthorized sale of the jabs.

Speaking over "Dobol B TV," Dr. Domingo said accounting of vaccines will help determine if the jabs being sold were from government supply.

"Nakarecord po 'yan at kung sa'n nadistribute kailangan matukoy kung ipinasok ng hindi naka-register sa gobyerno o ito galing sa supplies ng gobyerno na ipinuslit," Domingo said.

(We have a record of government-acquired COVID-19 vaccines, and where they are being distributed. We need to determine if illegally sold vaccines are from government supply or from unauthorized sources.) 

Selling of COVID-19 jabs is alarming as allocated supplies for vaccine recipients could be affected, Domingo warned.

"Kung galing sa supplies natin ibig sabihin nababawasan yung supplies na nakaallot sa mga taong nababakunahan. Ibig sabihin nada-divert" (If sold vaccines are from our supply, it means deployment to recipients is being diverted), he said.

He also reiterated that all vaccines that are part of government's immunization program against COVID-19 have emergency use authorization, which means these are not allowed for commercial use.

Domingo, likewise, said it is coordinating with the National Bureau of Investigation's probe into the incident of unlawful sale of COVID-19 vaccines, where three of the four suspects were already under police custody. 

Suspects will face charges for violation of the Food and Drug Administration Act.

So far, the Philippines ahs received over 17 million doses of various vaccine brands against COVID-19, and as of . This includes 7.5 million people inoculated as of June 27. —LBG, GMA News