A study on mixing Sputnik V vaccine with AstraZeneca vaccine was needed first, according to Domingo.
MIXING SPUTNIK V WITH ASTRAZENECA — On Thursday, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director-General Eric Domingo said that a study was needed first before the national government can push through with its plan to use AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as a second dose for Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine.
Domingo pointed out in an interview on Unang Balita that Sputnik V’s first component was what was called “Sputnik Light”, which reportedly can be given in a single dose.
“Ang alam natin yung first component ng Sputnik ay yun din yung tinatawag na Sputnik Light na baka maaaring single dose lamang. So lahat ng ito ay kinakailangang pag-aralan siguro muna bago maghalo ng mga bakuna,” Domingo said.
Domingo also said that vaccine experts in the country were currently evaluating Gamaleya’s Sputnik Light COVID-19 vaccine and results may be out “within the next few days or next week”.
READ ALSO: Philippines To Use AstraZeneca As 2nd Dose If Sputnik V Fails To Deliver — Galvez
Domingo’s statement came after vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr said on Wednesday that AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses may be used as a second dose if Sputnik V’s second component failed to arrive in the Philippines.
According to Domingo, AstraZeneca and Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccines were “very similar”. He also stressed that at present, the national government only allowed similar COVID-19 vaccine brands for the first and second doses.
The Philippines was expecting 15,000 doses of Sputnik V’s second component or its second dose on August 13, 2021. GMA News Online reported that the latest shipment of Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccines was in July, wherein 37,800 doses of the said vaccine were delivered from Russia.
It was last month when health authorities discussed a plan to study COVID-19 vaccine mixing.
For more news and updates, you may feel free to visit this site more often. You may also visit Newspapers.ph via our official Facebook page and YouTube channel.
