CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu City Council has agreed to put on hold its purchase of AstraZeneca after several European countries halted their rollout of the vaccine following reports of blood clots among those who received the vaccine.
AstraZeneca is among the vaccines the city is considering for its own vaccination program against COVID-19.
The council’s presiding officer, Vice Mayor Michael Rama, said it is better to put the purchase on hold in anticipation of the additional doses the national government will give Cebu City.
As of yesterday, at least 570 healthcare workers have been inoculated with AstraZeneca. So far, no one has reported adverse effects, said Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, chief pathologist and spokesperson of the Department of Health (DOH)-7.
The second dose of the vaccine will be given six to 12 weeks after the first shot.
The national government has given Central Visayas up to 30,000 doses of AstraZeneca.
Councilors Nestor Archival and Donaldo Hontiveros have recommended that the city add more orders of the Covavax vaccine while it waits for updates on AstraZeneca.
Rama said he has spoken with Philippine vaccine czar Carlito Galvez, Jr. and the latter has given the city the go signal to prioritize the purchase of Covovax.
The country’s Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) is expected to release Covovax’s Emergency Use Authority soon.
The city government has set aside P100 million for both AstraZenecia and Covovax.
Loreche told the City Council in a special online session that while there have been reported deaths due to blood clotting after being vaccinated with AstraZeneca, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and even the World Health Organization have not yet recommended a pull-out of the vaccine.
In EMA's latest report, investigation over the matter still continues along with a rigorous analysis of all data related to thromboembolic events.
EMA’s safety committee called the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) will review information further and has called for a meeting on Thursday.
Earlier, the DOH and FDA issued a statement saying there is no indication for the Philippines to stop the rollout of AstraZeneca vaccines.
The DOH, NTF, and FDA are coordinating closely on the matter and have assured the public that they are monitoring all vaccines that have been given out.
In a meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte and some members of the national Inter-Agency Task Force, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said he is inclined to utilizing all available AstraZenica vaccines from the Covax facility after learning from Galvez that more vaccines from the brand are arriving in the country soon.
Ivermectin
Meanwhile, the FDA has advised the public against the purchase and use of Ivermectin against COVID-19 as this is a veterinary product and not for humans.
Ivermectin is not approved by the FDA for treatment of any viral infection.
FDA said the registered oral and intravenous preparations of Ivermectin are veterinary products for animals to prevent heartworm disease and treatment of internal and external parasites in certain animal species accordingly.
The drug is an important part of a parasite control program for some animal species and should only be administered according to its approved indication, or as prescribed by a duly licensed veterinarian.
The registered Ivermectin products in the country for human use are in topical formulations and are under prescription use only. This is for the treatment of external parasites such as head lice and skin conditions such as rosacea, FDA said.