The Philippines' Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the emergency use of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, the second to be approved by Manila.
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The known and potential benefits of AstraZeneca's vaccine outweighed the risks to date, FDA chief Rolando Enrique Domingo said.
The Philippines' FDA has previously approved Pfizer and BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine.
Doses from Russia's Gamaleya, China's Sinovac and India's Bharat Biotech are awaiting approval.
AstraZeneca's vaccine was easy to transport and store, and did not require ultra-cold temperatures, Domingo said.
"It also has very good protection against severe COVID-19," he said.
The Philippines has signed deals to buy 17 million doses of the Brtish company's vaccine, including a private-sector agreement for 2.6 million doses in November.
The initial shipment, scheduled for May, would not be affected by the current manufacturing problems facing AstraZeneca, Jose Concepcion, a government business adviser representing the private sector, said.
With more than 518,000 cases and nearly 10,500 deaths, the Philippines has the second-highest case load in Southeast Asia after Indonesia.
Australian Associated Press
