By Alec Go
The government disclosed that a supply agreement between the Philippines and Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute for 20 million doses of Sputnik V is to be signed this week.
National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said in a palace briefing on April 13 that 500,000 doses of the Russian vaccine will be delivered this month once the agreement is sealed.
“Natanggap na po namin ang [We have received the] supply agreement and we are about to sign this agreement for 20 million,” Galvez confirmed.
“At simula po hanggang May hanggang August ay magdi-deliver po sila ng 20 million [From May to August, they will deliver 20 million doses],” Galvez added.
Based on Galvez’s report, the 500,000 Sputnik V doses expected this April will be followed by two million doses in May, four million doses in June, and another four million doses in July.
On March 19, the Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it has approved the emergency use authorization (EUA) application of Gamaleya for its Sputnik V product.
It is the fourth vaccine to be granted emergency approval in the Philippines after Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, and Sinovac Biotech.
“Sa ibang countries, wala pa naman tayong nakikitang signals or mga red flag. Kapag dumating dito ‘yan, magiging strict din naman ang ating monitoring [No signals or red flags have been seen abroad yet. Once it enters here, we will still be strict regarding monitoring],” FDA Director-General Eric Domingo said in the Laging Handa briefing on April 14.
Domingo explained that the two-dose vaccine has been given the green light to be administered “one month apart” to individuals aged 18 years old and above.
“Ibang component ‘yung nasa first dose, tapos ibang component ‘yung nasa second dose. Ito ang sinasabi nilang dahilan kaya mataas ang kanilang efficacy rate na 90% [The first and second doses have varying components, which they said is the reason for its high efficacy rate of 90%],” Domingo added.
