The Philippines’ Department of Health has affirmed that there’s a strategy in place to ensure that all doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine would be used, without wasting any of the doses ahead of the expiration date this May 2021.
DOH Undersecretary and Official Spokesperson Ma. Rosario Vergeire stated that all individuals who have already received their first dose are assured to get their second shot within four to 12 weeks.
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“It is not expired, sa end pa ng May. Na-compute na namin iyan at aabot po ‘yong intervals sa second doses and the current doses that we have (It is not expired, we still have until end of May. We’ve already computed it and we have enough time for the intervals between the second and current doses),” said Vergeire.
Since its arrival early March, the DOH estimates that around 12,788 Filipinos have already been inoculated with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
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Vergeire noted that almost all vaccines available against the coronavirus disease 2019 or those under emergency use authority have a short shelf life or six months at maximum, as per reports from the Philippine News Agency.
“Actually parang purposively ang ginawa talagang pinaka-mahabang expiry date ngayon ay six months kasi alam ng mga manufacturers na evolving ‘yong ating sitwasyon at maaaring kailangan nilang baguhin or iayos itong mga bakunang pinapagamit sa mga bansa kaya ganoon ang expiry (Actually, the longest expiry date at present is six months because manufacturers understand that the situation is evolving and that they may have to change the formulation of these vaccines in the future),” she said.
