Taguig temporarily suspends Sinovac vaccination sked

Sinovac vaccine  (Photo by Luis ROBAYO / AFP)

(Update: This version revises the headline to reflect that Taguig has temporarily suspended the Sinovac vaccination schedule pending the Certificate of Analysis.)

MANILA, Philippines —  Taguig on Monday temporarily suspended the use of the COVID-19 vaccine Sinovac until a Certificate of Analysis (COA) can be obtained.

In a memorandum, the Taguig City Vaccination Task Force said the first and second dose of Sinovac vaccinations are “canceled until further notice.”

“The Department of Health (DOH) has informed us that the Certificate of Analysis (COA) for the delivered Sinovac doses has not yet been released,” the task force said.

“In accordance with the ethical standards of the Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) Regulation of the Food and Drug Administration, any COVID-19 vaccine should have a COA as part of the quality assurance and safety prior to its use,” it added.

The Sinovac vaccination schedule for those who fall into categories A1 to A4 will be suspended.

“We will resume as soon as we receive the proper documents from the Department of Health for the latest shipment of vaccines, which we already have in our cold storage facility. We are working closely with DOH so we can immediately resume vaccination,” said Taguig City Mayor Lino Cayetano.

“Rest assured that those scheduled today will be rescheduled. Those who are scheduled to receive their second dose today will be prioritized once we resume vaccination,” he added.

Meanwhile, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire explained that COA usually comes after supplies of vaccines have been handed out.

“For the June 24 deliveries of Sinovac, we have COA scheduled to be issued by the manufacturers from today until the 30th of June, based on the batch and lot numbers of the vaccine,” said Vergeire.

“Taguig will resume vaccination as soon as COA has been issued,” she added.

As of June 26, Taguig City has immunized 238,853 individuals or 35 percent of the target population of 680,000 with their first dose.

Meanwhile, as of June 28, the number of recorded COVID-19 cases in the city is at 28,504 cases, with 454 active cases, 27,781 recoveries and  269 deaths.

abc