National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 chief implementer Sec. Carlito Galvez Jr. denied reports circulating online that the government is blocking the vaccine supply allotted for the private sector.
In a statement issued by the task force on July 7, he explained that the country has secured a total of 20 million doses of Moderna vaccines, 13 million doses of which were procured by the national government and seven million doses by the private sector.
“The initial batch of vaccines delivered by Moderna last June consisting of 249,600 doses was meant to be part of the 13 million doses allocated for the national government, since it was the first to sign a supply agreement with the company,” Galvez pointed out.
He said the private sector subsequently signed a separate supply agreement with Moderna. The doses secured were “tentatively scheduled to arrive in the country in the third quarter of 2021.”
However, the government was able to request the vaccine company to allocate a portion of their first delivery to the private sector. Galvez said it was agreed to allocate 49,600 doses from the first shipment to them.
“In addition to this supply, the National Task Force Against COVID-19 decided to augment the private sector’s allocation with another 50,000 doses, which leaves the national government with 150,000 doses. Hence, the private sector received a total of 99,600 doses of Moderna vaccines last June,” he added.
Galvez said the issue was “clearly peddled by malicious individuals who wish to undermine the country’s vaccine rollout.”
He emphasized that the government knows the importance of vaccinating the essential workers and economic frontliners.
As of July 5, the Philippines has administered a total of 12 million vaccine doses.
Report from Mark Fetalco/NGS- jlo
