MANILA, Philippines – The additional doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines recently delivered to the Philippines from the World Health Organization (WHO)-led COVAX Facility cannot be used on individuals who are outside the health body’s priority list, the Department of Health (DOH) said Wednesday.
Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said the fresh batch of 2 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses can only be given to persons listed under A1 to A3 sectors based on WHO priority list.
“Ang AstraZeneca ay galing sa COVAX Facility. Ang priority po ng COVAX ay A1, A2 and A3, so hindi po natin pwedeng ibigay sa ibang areas,” Cabotaje said during the Laging Handa briefing.
The government earlier said that violation of COVAX facility’s protocol might lead to the country losing vaccine allocations.
Cabotaje issued the statement when asked if AstraZeneca jabs can be used on frontliners in essential industries in the private sector to speed up the roll out of vaccines that are set to expire in June and July.
Under the Philippine government vaccination priority, healthcare workers belong to A1 sector, senior citizens under A2, and persons with co-morbidities belong to A3.
Frontline workers in the essential sectors belong to the A4 category. These workers include those from the transportation sector, market vendors, store clerks, restaurant staff, security personnel, overseas Filipino workers, and law/justice, among others.
She also noted that a number of health workers, elderly and persons with co-morbidities listed in the vaccination priority have yet to be immunized.
Cabotaje reported that 1.66 million of the 2 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses that arrived last Saturday have already been distributed. The remaining doses are only awaiting flights for deployment.
The health official expressed confidence that the government will be able to use up these doses before it expires in the next two months.
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