National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 Chief Implementer and Vaccine Czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said the country is continuously negotiating with other countries to ensure COVID-19 vaccine supply for next year.
“Sa ngayon patuloy ang ating intensive negotiation sa siyam na kumpanya. Kasama na rito ang Pfizer at AstraZeneca (Intensive negotiation is ongoing with nine companies including Pfizer and AstraZeneca),” Galvez disclosed.
“Nag-aano tayo ng advance negotiation sa apat na malaking kumpanya at patuloy ang exploratory talk sa other five companies (We are also into advance negotiation with four big companies and exploratory talk is underway with five other companies),” he added.
The country is now facing challenges with vaccine supply since 80 percent have already been allocated to rich countries. Galvez said that the country may have vaccines “most probably” by March of 2021.
The second tranche of vaccines may arrive by the second to fourth quarter, according to Galvez. However, it is expected that the volumes of vaccines “will be coming at the early third quarter.”
“Sa ngayon, talagang puspusan ang negotiation natin sa Pfizer. And also, we are waiting iyong EUA sa UK ng AstraZeneca. Kapag lumabas iyon ay malaki ang makukuha natin (We are in full swing regarding negotiations with Pfizer. We are also waiting for the EUA of AstraZeneca. Once it is out, we will be acquiring a great volume),” Galvez reported.
The government is set to meet with Johnson & Johnson vaccine talks while negotiations with the Sinovac of China is set to be finalized this week.
Philippine Ambassador to China Chito Sta. Romana reiterated that China is committed to allocate supplies in the country and the production and development are ongoing. – Report from Mela Lesmoras
