15,000 doses of Sputnik V arrive in PH

Arrival of recent shipment of Sputnik V vaccine doses. Screenshot from PTV

MANILA, Philippines — Some 15,000 doses of Russian-made COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V’s component II shots intended to be administered as second doses arrived in the country on Friday afternoon.

The vaccines procured by the government arrived past 5 p.m. at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

The delay in the delivery of Sputnik V, said to be due to “ongoing upgrades and latest developments” on the vaccine, have deferred the second dose schedule in various local government units.

Experts recommend that the interval between the first and second dose of Sputnik V can be from 21 to 42 days.

Despite the delay in arrival, a vaccine expert panel member said the late administration of Sputnik V’s second dose will not affect the vaccine’s efficacy as long as the interval is not extended to six months or beyond.

The last Sputnik V shipments comprising 132,200 and 37,800 doses arrived on July 9 and 10, respectively.

All in all, the Philippines already received more than 42 million COVID-19 vaccine doses since February.

Over 12 million individuals have already been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in the Philippines.

EDV