Advertisement
Singapore markets closed

  • Straits Times Index

    3,290.70
    +24.75 (+0.76%)
     

  • Nikkei

    38,229.11
    +155.13 (+0.41%)
     

  • Hang Seng

    18,963.68
    +425.87 (+2.30%)
     

  • FTSE 100

    8,433.76
    +52.41 (+0.63%)
     

  • Bitcoin USD

    60,934.46
    -2,029.32 (-3.22%)
     

  • CMC Crypto 200

    1,261.13
    -96.88 (-7.13%)
     

  • S&P 500

    5,222.68
    +8.60 (+0.16%)
     

  • Dow

    39,512.84
    +125.08 (+0.32%)
     

  • Nasdaq

    16,340.87
    -5.40 (-0.03%)
     

  • Gold

    2,366.90
    +26.60 (+1.14%)
     

  • Crude Oil

    78.20
    -1.06 (-1.34%)
     

  • 10-Yr Bond

    4.5040
    +0.0550 (+1.24%)
     

  • FTSE Bursa Malaysia

    1,600.67
    -0.55 (-0.03%)
     

  • Jakarta Composite Index

    7,088.79
    -34.81 (-0.49%)
     

  • PSE Index

    6,511.93
    -30.53 (-0.47%)
     

Philippines considers extending expiry dates of COVID-19 shots

Bloomberg
·1-min read
FILE PHOTO: A health worker inoculates a woman with a dose of COVID-19 vaccine inside a vaccination bus transformed from an airport bus in Manila, the Philippines, Aug. 24, 2021. (Photo: Rouelle Umali/Xinhua via Getty Images)
FILE PHOTO: A health worker inoculates a woman with a dose of COVID-19 vaccine inside a vaccination bus transformed from an airport bus in Manila, the Philippines, Aug. 24, 2021. (Photo: Rouelle Umali/Xinhua via Getty Images) (Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images)

By Andreo Calonzo

The Philippines is considering stretching the shelf life of some COVID-19 vaccines, an official said, after thousands of AstraZeneca Plc. shots were reported to have been unused past their original expiry dates.

The nation may follow Canada in extending the expiration dates of some COVID-19 shots, Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said in a televised briefing on Friday. Earlier this year, Health Canada lengthened the shelf life of AstraZeneca vaccines by a month, citing scientific evidence supporting the move.

The Philippines – which lags most of Southeast Asia in inoculations – administered about 8 million shots at its three-day vaccine drive earlier this week, falling short of a target of 9 million jabs. The government plans to hold another mass vaccination drive mid-December.

© 2021 Bloomberg L.P.