The Department of Health (DOH) said that the over two million AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines that recently arrived in the Philippines will be administered as first dose as these are set to expire in June and July.
The second batch of AstraZeneca vaccines, totalling to 2,030,400 doses, arrived in the country last Saturday, May 8, through the World Health Organization (WHO)-led COVAX facility.
DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that 1.5 million of these vaccines will expire in June, "while the rest would be in July."
Vergeire said that a mechanism has already been laid out to avoid wastage of these vaccines.
“Wala po tayong dapat ikabahala. Nakagawa na po ng mekanismo ang ating vaccine cluster on how we can be able to consume these vaccines (We have nothing to worry about. Our vaccine cluster has already created a mechanism on how we can be able to consume these vaccines),” she said in a press briefing on Tuesday, May 11.
“We will be giving these vaccines as first dose because WHO has committed that they will be providing additional AstraZeneca vaccines by the end of May or first week of June," she added.
To note, the AstraZeneca vaccine requires two doses and is being given four to 12 weeks apart.
Vergeire also explained that the normal shelf-life of COVID-19 vaccines is normally at six months.
“Meron pa ho tayong mga transaction and transport for these vaccines kaya minsan pag dumating sa isang bansa, ganito na yung time for expiry (There's also the transaction and transport aspects for these vaccines, that is why, sometimes if it arrive in a certain country, the expiration period is already limited),” she noted.
Meanwhile, the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech that had been delivered last Monday night will be allocated in some areas of Metro Manila, Cebu City, Davao City, and Quirino.
The 193,050 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines were also from COVAX Facility.