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Manila, Philippines – The Department of Health (DOH) tried to alleviate concerns about the allergy warning that British health authorities issued about the first COVID-19 vaccine to be launched in the world, which was produced by the American pharmaceutical company Pfizer and the company of German biotechnology BioNTech.
The Undersecretary of Health, María Rosario Vergeire, explained that allergies are a “common side effect” of new drugs and vaccines, and local health professionals know how to address these issues.
“These drugs and vaccines are foreign materials to which our body could react differently. [The reaction] it’s going to be different in different people. Just because a person becomes allergic does not mean that I have an allergic reaction too, ”Vergeire said Friday.
The DOH official said after the UK Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said that those with a “significant history of allergic reactions” should be excluded from the COVID-19 vaccination program due to two cases of adverse reactions. .
Vergeire said the warning was only intended to prevent recurrences and that local officials have already prepared for similar incidents.
Supervision
The director general of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Eric Domingo, for example, had already announced that both his agency and the DOH will conduct post-authorization monitoring once the COVID-19 vaccine is available in the country. .
He added that this mechanism also ensures that when there are “unusual or suspicious adverse events”, these can be investigated immediately and can decide whether to continue vaccination.
“It is really important to have a very strong monitoring and surveillance mechanism, both passive and active,” said Domingo.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is the first to be administered to the public outside of clinical trials. After gaining emergency approval from the MHRA last week, the vaccine received the go-ahead this week from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), which said it was safe and effective against the novel coronavirus.
New infections
“The known and potential benefits of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine outweigh its known and potential risks for use in people 16 years of age and older,” said the USFDA.
Also Friday, the DOH recorded 1,504 additional cases, bringing the national count to 447,039.
Davao City reported the highest number of new infections, 122, followed by Rizal (85), Quezón City (80), Santiago City (67) and Bulacan (64).
Another 273 patients have recovered, bringing the total number of survivors to 409,329.
The death toll rises to 8,709 after the death of eight more patients.
Recoveries and deaths left the country with 29,001 active cases, of which 85.8 percent are mild, 6.7 percent asymptomatic, 0.25 percent moderate, 2.4 percent severe, and 4 , 8 percent critical.
For more news on the new coronavirus, click here.
What you need to know about the coronavirus.
For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.
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