The DOH announced the official resumption of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccination in the Philippines.
The Department of Health announced the official resumption of vaccination with AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for all eligible population.
Previously, the Department of Health adopted the recommendation of the country’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to temporarily suspend, pending review, the use of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses for those aged below 60 years old following reports of very rare cases of “Vaccine-Induced Thrombosis and Thrombocytopenia (VITT)”.
A Vaccine-Induced Thrombosis and Thrombocytopenia was a very rare condition of blood clots associated with low platelet counts that can occur 4-28 days after receiving a viral vector vaccine.
“After discussions with the DOH All Experts Group and the Philippine College of Hematology and Transfusion Medicine (PCHTM), it was concluded that there are currently no known risk factors for VITT and that the benefits of receiving the vaccine against COVID-19 still outweighs the risk,” the Department of Health said in a statement.
The DOH All Experts Group on Vaccines was composed of experts from the Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC), Interim National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (iNITAG), DOST Vaccine Expert Panel (VEP), National Adverse Events Following Immunization Committee (NAEFIC), and DOH Technical Advisory Group for COVID-19.
However, the Department of Health added that specific measures and guidelines will still be enforced in order to mitigate the risks of vaccination.
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The Department of Health said that updated guidelines on the management of “adverse events following immunization (AEFI)” — particularly for VITT — were also released by the PCHTM.
To date, the FDA and the NAEFIC haven’t detected any local cases of VITT.
The Department of Health noted that the resumption was timely as 2 million AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses were expected to arrive in the Philippines this month.
Also, the Department of Health encouraged those already vaccinated with the first dose of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to get their second dose.
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