The Philippines’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves AstraZenica’s Coronavirus disease (Covid) vaccine for emergency use, which makes it the second vaccine granted with an Emergency Use” Authority (EUA).
With the EUA, the United Kingdom (UK)-based drug manufacturer‘s vaccine may be “legally rolled out” in the Philippines, according to the FDA.
Both the provincial government of Bohol and the city government ot Tagbilaran indicated in previous reports that they are looking at procuring the vaccine made by AstraZenica.
FDA Director General Eric Domingo on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021, said there were no safety concerns linked to the AstraZeneca vaccines after their stringent review.
Domingo added that the two doses of the United Kingdom (UK)-manufactured vaccine, administered four (4) to 12 weeks apart, can only be received by people aged 18 years old and over. However, the vaccine may be unsafe for pregnant women.
The AstraZenica vaccine is attractive to local government units as it does not need to be stored in ultra-low temperature freezers. Ordinary freezers may already adequately store AstraZenica’s vaccine.