Pateros Mayor Miguel “Ike” Ponce III suspended the vaccination of people scheduled to receive the second dose of Gamaleya’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine due to lack of supply.
People who received the first dose or Component I of Sputnik V in Pateros were scheduled to receive the second dose or Component II starting Monday.
However, Ponce said Friday, “As I have said before, there will be a delay in the arrival of the second dose or the so-called Component II of Gamaleya Sputnik. You will not be given the second dose.”
He advised people not to go to the vaccination centers because they will not be vaccinated as Pateros does not have the supply of Sputnik V.
Ponce cited Advisory No. 76 of the National COVID-19 Vaccination Operations Center, which stated that for the interval of vaccination, “a delay of three (3) to six (6) months is still acceptable if COVID-19 vaccine delivery is affected by the global vaccine supply.”
The center issued the advisory last Aug. 15 regarding the delay in the delivery of the second dose of Sputnik V vaccines in the Philippines.
The country’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved last July the application of the manufacturer to revise the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of Sputnik V to extend the dose interval from 21 to 42 days.
“The National Government acknowledges that there are delays in the arrival of Gamaleya Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, Component II doses. At present, approximately 100,000 vaccine recipients are already due for the administration of their required second doses and approximately 120,000 vaccine recipients are also due in the succeeding weeks given the interval of 42 days,” according to the advisory.
Last Aug. 31, 15,000 doses of Sputnik V’s second dose arrived in the Philippines.
“The DOH All Expert Group (AEG) recommends for affected vaccine recipients to wait for their Gamaleya Sputnik V vaccine, Component II doses regardless of delay in interval. To date, there is insufficient scientific evidence to support mixing of Gamaleya Sputnik V vaccines with other COVID-19 vaccines. Therefore, administration of a second dose from a different COVID-19 vaccine brand in lieu of the Gamaleya Sputnik V vaccine, Component II dose is not allowed,” the advisory added.
Ponce told those waiting for the second dose of the Sputnik V vaccine not to get worried as this can be given up to six months from the date of their first dose.
As of Aug. 30, Pateros has surpassed 100 percent of the target population of 56,000 or 80 percent of the estimated population of 70,000 for the first dose.
For the second dose, the municipal government has already vaccinated about 70 percent of the target or 39,200.