FDA: AstraZeneca’s EUA in PH stays after its use paused in South Africa

MANILA, Philippines — The emergency use authorization of British drugmaker AstraZeneca in the Philippines stays even after South Africa suspended the vaccine’s rollout, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Tuesday.

South Africa paused its Covid-19 vaccinations with the AstraZeneca jab after a study showed the drug failed to prevent mild cases of the virus variant detected in the country.

“Well sa ngayon, wala namang epekto ito sa atin dahil yung new variant na South African ay hindi pa naman nakikita dito sa Pilipinas, kahit naman yung UK variant ay kakaunting kaunti lamang,” FDA Director General Eric Domingo said in a televised briefing.

(Right now, it has no effect on us because the new South African variant has yet to be detected here in the Philippines and we also have few cases of the UK variant.)

“Meaning, ang circulating virus dito sa atin ay kahawig na kahawig pa rin ng original na virus na ginamit para idevelop yung AstraZeneca vaccine. At this time, nandyan pa rin naman yung EUA, walang pagbabago,” he added.

(Meaning, the circulating virus here is still like the original one used to develop the AstraZeneca vaccine. At this time, the EUA stays and there are no changes.)

The World Health Organization, meanwhile, said the AstraZeneca vaccine remains crucial in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic even after South Africa suspended its use for its vaccination program.

JE