DOH: 1M out of 2M AstraZeneca doses already administered before expiration

The Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish Shrine in Kamuning Quezon City, is used as a vaccination area on May 17, accommodating frontliners, senior citizens and persons with comorbidities for Astrazeneca inoculation. INQUIRER file photo / Niño Jesus Orbeta

MANILA, Philippines — One million of the two million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines that arrived in May and are set to expire in June and July have already been administered, the Department of Health (DOH) said Wednesday.

Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said the remaining 500,000 doses will be administered as second dose to health workers who were vaccinated in March while the other 500,000 will be administered as first dose.

“We are confident that by end of June nai-jab na itong ating remaining 500,000 as first doses habang kinukumpleto natin ‘yung pang second dose ng first batch,” she said in a Laging Handa public briefing.

(We are confident that by the end of June we will have administered the 500,000 as first doses while we are completing the second doses of the first batch.)

The first batch she was pertaining to was the 525,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines that first arrived in the country and were all administered as first dose to health care workers.

She said those who received the first dose are set to receive their second dose after 12 weeks, most of which will be in the first week or second week of June.

So far, the Philippines has administered 4.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, with over one million individuals already receiving two doses.

JPV