VAX WILL BE USED BEFORE EXPIRY DATE

MANILA – Malacañang on Thursday allayed concerns over the pace of the country’s vaccination rollout with 2 million doses of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine set to expire in one to two months.

Citing the Department of Health (DOH), Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque assured that the 2 million AstraZeneca vaccines will be used up before they expire.

“Wala pong problema ‘yan kasi ang expiration date ay July. Mayo pa lang po. Isang buwan lang ang ating kailangan para ubusin yung 2 million na AstraZeneca (There’s no problem because the expiration date is in July. It’s only May. We only need one month to finish those 2 million doses of AstraZeneca),” he said in a press briefing from PTV-4.

Earlier, Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said the government will deploy 1.5 million doses of the vaccines as first shots, while the remaining shots will be prioritized as second doses for individuals who received their first shot in March.

She said the DOH gave the directive after vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. and Health Secretary Francisco Duque III met with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the country’s vaccine experts on the matter on Tuesday.

Of the more than 2 million AstraZeneca vaccines that the Philippines received through the WHO-led COVAX Facility on May 8, 1.5 million doses will expire on June 30, 2021, while 525,600 will expire on July 31, 2021.

Sinopharm’s EUL

Meanwhile, Roque said the Philippines is still determined to include China’s Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine in its vaccine portfolio.

Roque said he is optimistic that Sinopharm would be cleared for emergency use in the Philippines after the World Health Organization (WHO) included the Chinese vaccine in its emergency use listing (EUL).

“Dahil sa development na ito ay lalo pang darami ang ating vaccine portfolio habang patuloy natin ini-improve ang access sa ligtas at epektibong bakuna tulad ng Sinopharm (Because of this development, we will have more vaccines in our vaccine portfolio while we continue to improve our access to safe and effective vaccines like Sinopharm),” he said.

Asked if the government would push through with returning the 1,000 doses of Sinopharm donated by China, Roque was not able to give a clear answer.

On May 5, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the withdrawal of Sinopharm over concerns that he received his first dose of the vaccine despite its lack of emergency use authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the Philippines.

Duterte’s jab was covered by the compassionate permit use given to the Presidential Security Group (PSG) hospital by the FDA.

He is still scheduled to receive his second dose of Sinopharm despite his directive to pull out the Chinese vaccine. /