The Philippines on Monday night (May 10) received the first batch of donated Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines from the World Health Organization (WHO)-led COVAX Facility.
The plane carrying 193,050 doses landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2 around 9:30 p.m. and was received by the national government, and representatives of the United Nations, WHO, the UNICEF, US Embassy, and Pfizer Philippines.
“These additional Pfizer vaccines will be used on priority groups A1 to A3, who will be receiving the first dose of these vaccines. We have been working hard to bring these vaccines to the country especially with the scarce global supply of COVID-19 vaccines,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said in a statement.
The Pfizer vaccine will initially be rolled out to areas with storage facilities capable of handling -80 to -70 degrees Celsius, such as Mega Manila, Metro Cebu, and Metro Davao.
The government is currently administering the first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccines to health care workers, senior citizens, and persons with comorbidities.
“In February, the U.S Government announced a $4 billion contribution to support the purchase and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX Facility. This includes an initial contribution of $2 billion to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC), which enables donor-funded access to safe and effective vaccines for 92 low- and middle-income countries,” Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe, WHO Representative to the Philippines, said.
The government is eyeing a total of 1.3 million doses of Pfizer vaccines through the COVAX facility. The initial doses of 193,050 would be used to test the logistics needed to store and transport the vaccines.
Aside from UNICEF, Malacaῆang also thanked on Monday the donor countries for the vaccines the Philippines has accessed through COVAX.
Vaccine Czar Carlito Galvez Jr. reported on Monday night during the public address of President Duterte that there are now 7,571,000 doses that have arrived since February.
-DOH/AG-jlo, with reports from Ryan Lesigues-rir
