The AstraZeneca shots that arrived in the Philippines is different from the batch that reportedly caused blood clots in people who received the vaccine in several countries in Europe, a Philippine Food and Drug Administration official said on Saturday.
“We confirmed with AstraZeneca that the doses that arrived in the country are from a different batch, so it is not part of the batch being probed.” FDA director-general Eric Domingo told GMA News.
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Domingo stressed that benefit continue to outweigh the risk that’s why the Philippine government will continue to administer vaccines developed by AstraZeneca.
European countries namely Denmark, Norway and Austria announced they were temporarily halting the rollout of AstraZeneca jabs to investigate the cases, according to Department of Health (DOH).
This was done as a precautionary measure following the reports of blood clots in people who received the vaccine, including a case in Denmark where a person died after receiving the shot.
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Meanwhile, the European Medicine Authority maintained that there is currently no indication that vaccination has caused these conditions.
The World Health Organization also said there is no reason to stop the inoculation of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine after some countries delayed their rollout over isolated reports of blood clots.
The Philippines begin its rollout of AstraZeneca shots after receiving 525,600 doses from the COVAX facility. (RA)
