Vaccines against COVID-19 will start arriving in the Philippines next month. National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 Chief Implementer and Vaccine Czar Carlito Galvez Jr. earlier reported that 50,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine are expected to be delivered in February which will be followed by 950,000 doses in March.
“Nakita po namin ang EUA ma-aapprove before February 20. ‘Yun po ang arrangement namin (we are seeing the EUA to be approved before February 20. That is our arrangement),” Galvez disclosed.
“Ang FDA mayroon tayong tinatawag na parallel pathway para sa regulatory requirements ng Sinovac (the FDA has what is called the parallel pathway for the regulatory requirements of Sinovac),” Galvez added.
Aside from Sinovac, the Philippines is also negotiating with other pharmaceutical companies to guarantee steady supply of vaccines for the country.
“Ang mga unang bakuna ‘pag nakapag-negotiate tayo ng early roll out ay Pfizer. Pangalawa, Sinovac, and then AstraZeneca (if we get to negotiate for an early rollout, the first vaccine would be Pfizer, followed by Sinovac, and then AstraZeneca),” Galvez disclosed.
“‘Yung Novavax baka first quarter din ‘yun. ‘Yung Johnson & Johnson baka third quarter pa (Novavax may also arrive in the first quarter while Johnson & Johnson would be on the third quarter),” Galvez added.
The vaccine czar enumerated that the Philippine government has allotted ₱82.5 billion for the purchase of vaccines, ₱70 billion of which is from unprogrammed funds (foreign multilateral and bilateral loans and domestic loans), ₱2.5 billion from the Department of Health (DOH) 2021 budget, and ₱10 billion from Bayanihan 2.
The government is aiming to seal up to 180 million doses of vaccine with its negotiations with pharmaceutical companies. Storage facilities for the vaccines are also being prepared as temperature requirements demand subzero levels.
The NTForce Against COVID-19 is also set to begin the “vaccine rehearsal” where it will visit cold chain facilities and to inspect the readiness of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), San Lazaro Hospital, and the Philippine General Hospital. On whether the country will be able to attain herd immunity this year or not, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire explained that there are limitations and stiff competition concerning global vaccine supply.
“We all know that the delivery of these vaccines will be in tranches, kaya nga tayo naglagay ng (that is why we have set a) priority population,” Vergeire stated. – Report from Kenneth Paciente
