Hospitals given until March 24 to use AstraZeneca doses



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MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Health (DOH) has given hospitals until Wednesday to administer all of their available AstraZeneca doses, or they will be withdrawn from the market and delivered to other hospitals with increasing cases of COVID- 19.

The Undersecretary of Health, María Rosario Vergeire, said that unused vaccines will eventually be replaced when a new supply of vaccines arrives.

“We have been vaccinating for a long time now. They have to do this quickly, especially now that cases are increasing, ”Vergeire said at an online news conference Monday.

Vaccines should not be stored for a long time, as they are intended to protect healthcare workers, he said.

The DOH said 1,154 healthcare workers were infected with the coronavirus from February 1 to March 21.

Vergeire also said DOH had decided to assign the 525,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine as the first dose.

DOH relies on the World Health Organization (WHO) assurance that the next delivery of the AstraZeneca vaccine will arrive in the next two weeks, so everyone who received the first dose will receive the second on time.

“With that commitment from WHO, we have decided to administer vaccines to as many health workers as we can to protect them against the increase in cases,” added Vergeire.

AstraZeneca doses were released exclusively for healthcare workers, including those 60 and older, on March 6.

The DOH said 336,656 people have been vaccinated as of March 20 at 1,623 vaccination sites across the country.

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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