Any takers for vaccines whose shelf life has been “extended” after their indicated expiry dates have lapsed?
Department of Health (DOH) officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said on Friday that the agency will “extend the shelf life” of about 6 million expiring COVID-19 doses in the government’s stockpile.
The government currently has 17,488,050 doses. Vergeire said, regarding the estimated 6 million doses in that inventory, that they are due to expire by the first quarter or by midyear.
But that disclosure was just a reiteration of her remarks in September last year, when she also noted that the vaccines could still be in use, after their safety has been verified by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in consultation with their manufacturers.
On Friday, she said the DOH was further awaiting approval from the regulator on the “quality profile” of those vaccines.
Meanwhile, the 6 million doses have been “quarantined—meaning, we are still awaiting the evidence … of our manufacturers for us to extend shelf life,” Vergeire said at a press briefing.
‘Potency’
Last year, the FDA extended the shelf life of more than 12 million AstraZeneca, Sinovac and Sputnik V doses.
Then FDA Deputy Director General Oscar Gutierrez had said that vaccines with prolonged shelf life remain safe and effective since their “potency” is retained.
“So, that’s what we are using now as basis for us to have continuity in the vaccination program,” said Vergeire, who also pointed out that vaccine jabs up for extension go through tests assessing their chemical and microbiological properties.
She assured the public that the current stockpile is “sufficient” for the government to inoculate the eligible groups.
The general adult population, however, cannot be vaccinated yet with a second booster shot, unless already recommended by the Health Technology Assessment Council, the advisory panel of the DOH. Vergeire urged those who are due for boosters or complete primary doses to get vaccinated, amid the threat of new COVID-19 strains.
“Based on experts, our vaccines still give us protection against the virus,” she said.
According to the department’s COVID-19 vaccination dashboard as of last Monday, 73.8 million have been fully vaccinated—or about 67 percent of the country’s population of 110 million.
Those who had availed themselves of first boosters remained low at 21.2 million.