The Food and Drug Administration at the one-stop center in Ali Mall, Cubao. ABS-CBN News/File
MANILA—The Food and Drug Administration has warned the public against claims by companies that nasal spray products could be used to prevent or treat COVID-19.
In an advisory, the state health regulator said nasal spray products were authorized in the country as "medical devices, which are intended for short-term use in the nasal cavity and serves as mechanical barriers from particulates."
The agency noted these products were sprays that "coat the nasal mucosa with substances that have non-specific effect against pathogens."
"The products do not have active pharmaceutical ingredients that directly treat, eliminate or prevent diseases," FDA director-general Eric Domingo said in the advisory.
"They should not be used as substitutes to medicines and vaccines to prevent or treat SARS-CoV-2 Infection or COVID-19."
The FDA urged the public to be vigilant and cautious in using products with claims against prevention and treatment of COVID-19, the illness caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
The agency had stressed that vaccines, which have been granted emergency use authorization in the country, were effective against COVID-19.
As of Sept. 9, the Philippines has administered over 37 million doses of the anti-virus jabs. Of the figure, some 21.5 million people have received the first shot while over 16 million were fully vaccinated.
Since the pandemic began, the country has logged more than 2.2 million coronavirus infections, of which 35,145 have succumbed to the illness.
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