THE Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it had approved the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of two more oral anti-viral treatment against COVID-19.
During the Laging Handa public briefing, FDA Director General Oscar Gutierrez said those with approved EUA include paxlovid and one brand of molnupiravir from Bangladesh.
He said that based on clinical trials, the use of paxlovid will help decrease the chances of hospitalization and death by up to 90 percent when administered to a COVID-19 patient a few days after the onset of symptoms.
Meanwhile, the application for extension of shelf life of four batches of the AstraZeneca vaccines were likewise approved by the FDA.
According to Gutierrez, the FDA will release today the approval for the vaccines, which will allow it to be used for the next three months.
Aside from this, an earlier eight batches of AstraZeneca vaccines whose application for extension of shelf life was also approved.
Gutierrez assured that the efficacy of these vaccines will not change despite the extension of their shelf life.
He said that among the standards before the FDA approves the extension of shelf life is that the vaccine’s safety, efficacy and quality profile submitted by the manufacturer will not change.