By Alec Go
The Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said there are no approved COVID-19 nasal spray products yet amid reports that these are being offered for sale in the country.
FDA Director-General Eric Domingo said nasal COVID-19 vaccine sprays have yet to be approved in other countries when he spoke in the Laging Handa briefing on Wednesday, Sept. 22.
“So ‘pag mayroon pong binenta sa inyo na sinasabing COVID vaccine po ito, ito po ay either fake o hindi po natin alam kung ano ang laman nito,” he said.
“Huwag po ninyong gagamitin at paki-report po ninyo sa FDA para mahuli po namin,” he added.
The health official said nasal spray has not yet been proven effective in preventing COVID-19 as clinical trials are still ongoing.
“Sa ngayon ang available lang po sa atin na mga nasal spray.. mga panlinis ng ilong, pambigay ng kaunting proteksyon. Pero sa panandaliang panahon lamang po iyon at hindi pa naman po sila talaga maaaring gamitin as pampalit sa mga gamot or bakuna kontra COVID,” he said. “We have to wait a little more before po maging available ito sa merkado.”
Meanwhile, the FDA said it has been working with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) on the reported sale of tocilizumab in the black market.
Domingo said several unauthorized sellers have been apprehended in different buy-bust operations nationwide.
The FDA warned the public to avoid acquiring medicines from unauthorized and suspicious sources, as the products may be “counterfeit or substandard.” – bny
