VACCINE czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said the government will use the AstraZeneca vaccine against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) as substitute for the second component of Sputnik V in case Russia fails to make the delivery.
"We already made an announcement that in case Sputnik V was not able to deliver, we can use AstraZeneca as a second dose," Galvez told reporters in an interview during the arrival of Pfizer vaccines on Wednesday evening, August 11, 2021.
Galvez said the the second component of Sputnik V is expected to arrive on Friday, August 13.
He said there were issues in the production of the second component, which is different from the first component.
So far, 350,000 doses of Sputnik V procured by the national government have arrived in the Philippines.
Meanwhile, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director General Eric Domingo said suggestions to mix vaccines are still under study.
He said Sputnik V and AstraZeneca are “very similar.” Both are viral vector vaccines.
Domingo said what they are looking into right now is if the first component of Sputnik V can stand on its own.
"Ang alam natin ‘yung first component ng Sputnik ay yun din ‘yung tinatawag na Sputnik Light na baka maaaring single dose lamang," Domingo said in a television interview. (Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo / SunStar Philippines)