Daily COVID-19 Infections Hit 6-Month High in Philippines

The Philippines recorded almost 4,600 new COVID-19 cases – the highest single-day increase in nearly six months – while health authorities on Friday said they would not stop inoculating people with the AstraZeneca vaccine despite concerns in some European countries about the drug’s safety.

Officials from the Philippine Department of Health and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said they were aware that some European Union countries have paused their use of the vaccine.

These countries have suspended their use of the AstraZeneca vaccines “as a precautionary measure, while they conduct a full investigation to determine causality between the vaccination and the reported adverse events following immunization,” the health department said in a statement.

Both the health department and the FDA believe that “there is no indication for the Philippines to stop the rollout of AstraZeneca vaccines. The public is assured that they will closely monitor all deployed vaccines.”

Meanwhile in Thailand, public health officials postponed Friday’s planned vaccination of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha and other officials over reports about the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA), which evaluates medicinal products for the European Union, noted that there are no indications the AstraZeneca vaccines caused the reported adverse effects.