MANILA – The Department of Health has resumed the use of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus disease 2019 vaccines for people under the age of 60.
The health department will issue updated guidelines on the use of the said vaccine after blood clot incidents in other countries were reported.
“On the whole, bottomline nito ay tayo ay maglalabas ng isang guideline para sa paggamit ng AstraZeneca to include these different precautions na binigay ng Food and Drug Administration (FDA),” DOH undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said on Monday.
“Kailangan natin balikan din na napakaliit lang na porsyento ng populasyon na naapektuhan ng mga ganitong klaseng adverse events for AstraZeneca,” she added.
Last week, FDA’s director general Eric Domingo has recommended to lift the suspension order and resume the use of the vaccine to persons 60 and below as the “benefits outweigh the risks.”
Earlier this month, the DOH and FDA issued an order to halt the vaccine’s use on individuals 60 and below after the European drug regulators found a link between the AstraZeneca jabs and a few cases of unusual blood clots with low platelet count.
Countries like Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Spain, and the Netherlands do not recommend the use of AstraZeneca’s shot on younger people.
Based on the data from the DOH, there were no reports of blood clotting incidents among those who were inoculated with the vaccine. /PN
