By Jenny Ortuoste
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III on Thursday (April 15) called for the just and equitable distribution of vaccine supplies for all countries, which are critical to the recovery of the global economy from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Finance Secretary spoke at a virtual economic briefing with the theme “Philippines-United States (PHL-US) at 75: Strengthening Ties through Sustainable Recovery.” It was organized by Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez in Washington, DC.
Speaking before senior executives of American and Philippine companies, Sec. Dominguez said: “The Philippines strongly supports the statement of Mr. David Malpass, former US Undersecretary of the Treasury for International Affairs and now the World Bank President, who underscored the importance of releasing COVID-19 vaccines from countries with excess supplies as soon as possible.”
According to the World Health Organization, as of April 9, more than 700 million vaccine doses have been administered globally, but over 87% have gone to high-income or upper middle-income countries, while low-income countries have received just 0.2% of the supply.
COVID-19 cases, PH vaccination program
On possible concerns over the Philippines’ COVID-19 cases, Dominguez said that while the recent spike of infections in the country might appear accelerated, these are nowhere near the levels experienced by other countries, which have far higher death rates of 150 per one hundred thousand of their populations. The Philippines’ COVID-19 fatality rate is roughly 14 people per hundred thousand of its population.
“Despite supply challenges, we are fully rolling out our vaccination program. Our target is to inoculate at least 70 million Filipinos or 100 percent of our adult population within the year. We have arranged for the delivery of more than 140 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines this year. About 15 percent will be delivered in the first half of this year and 85 percent in the second half,” Dominguez said.
He gave the assurance that: “First, that the vaccines we are buying are internationally accepted, and have passed the stringent criteria for safety and effectiveness. Second, that the vaccine procurement is totally transparent.”
Dominguez said the majority of the financing needed for the country’s vaccination program was sourced through loans from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
“I would also like to point out that the trilateral cooperation among the three multilateral banks in support of the Philippines’ vaccination program is a first in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region,” Dominguez said.
