Majority of vaccines this month coming from Pfizer, AstraZeneca
(Eagle News) — Philippine vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez said that there will be three million vaccine doses against COVID-19 which will be coming in this February.
In his report to President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday, Feb. 1, Galvez said that these 3 million vaccine doses will be among the first batches of the expected 148 million vaccine doses targeted for this year by the Philippine government.
Included in these vaccines are those coming from the World Health Organization’s COVAX facility where vaccines for 20 percent of the population are already assured.
Galvez said that among the vaccines that will arrive in the country are those from Pfizer and AstraZeneca.
He said local government units are glad that Pfizer and AstroZeneca vaccines will be among those that will arrive earlu in the country. The first roll-out will happen by mid-February to the last week of the month.
“At natutuwa po kami at natutuwa po ‘yung mga LGU na they will receive ‘yung ano — ‘yung 117,000 na COVAX Pfizer and also more or less 5.5 million to 9.2 million po na AstraZeneca. Ang rollout po nito is mid- or last week of February. Kaya po mayroon po tayong at least mga more or less na aasahan na 3 million doses this coming February po, sir,” Galvez said.
-WHO’s COVAX facility early rollout-
He said that he and Health Secretary Francisco Duque III had early on applied for the Philippines to be part of the early rollout for the COVAX facility under WHO.
“Dahil po noong nag-submit po tayo ng ano ng ating recommendations sa COVAX noong January 18, pinirmahan po namin ni Secretary Duque na tayo po ay mag-a-apply ng COVAX facility na for early rollout,” Galvez said.
“Ang ini-expect lang po natin ay 250 po na Pfizer. Actually, iyon lang po ang ano po namin, preparation. Pero gusto po namin magpasalamat sa WHO at saka sa GAVI po, sir, dahil kasi talagang tinupad po nila ‘yung pangako po nila,” he said.
Galvez said that they had also followed-up with calls to New York and to the country representatives of the pharmaceutical firms here in the country, stressing to them the Philippines’ need for the vaccines.
He said that those to be prioritized are the health care workers.
“At maganda po na nagbigay po sila, sir, ng ano — ng 117,000 (doses) na Pfizer para sa ating mga healthcare workers. Iyon pong ano pong ‘yan 117, one tranche po ‘yan, ibibigay po sa atin. And then ‘yung AstraZeneca rin po, nagbigay rin po ang COVAX ng 5.5 million to 9.2 million,” he said.
-Scalable vaccine supplies-
Galvez said that this is also scalable if the vaccine firms and WHO would see that the Philippines would be able to dispose its vaccine supplies immediately. WHO had promised the Philippines more or less 40 million doses.
“So ito po puwede pa pong scalable po ito pagka nakita po nila na talagang kaya po nating i-dispose kaagad itong mga ano po — kasi po ang naipangako po sa atin ay 20 percent or more or less 40 million doses,” he said.
Galvez also thanked WHO and GAVI, the international vaccine alliance, for their commitment and giving premium to giving equitable access of the vaccines to poor and developing countries.
He said that the DOH will also comply with all the requirements of WHO and the GAVI alliance.
Gavi is an international organization – a global Vaccine Alliance, that brought together “public and private sectors with the shared goal of creating equal access to new and underused vaccines for children living in the world’s poorest countries,” its website said.
(Eagle News Service)