Access to COVID-19 Vaccine for All Filipinos May Only Be Available in 2022 – Official

MANILA – Most Filipinos may have to wait until 2022 to receive an injection of the coronavirus vaccine, an official leading the country’s pandemic response said on Monday, as the government will prioritize workers. health and other vulnerable groups, and the supply of vaccines is expected to be initially limited.

Speaking to ANC Matters of Fact, Vaccine Czar Sec. Carlito Gálvez said equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine may only be available in 2022, despite encouraging results from some vaccine candidates that They are close to regulatory approval.

“Only maybe in 2022 we will have equitable access to the [vaccine],” he said.

“Maybe during 2022, when we have a sufficient supply for the vaccine, we could allow commercialization of the vaccine. But by 2021, even [the] The World Health Organization (WHO) and also the vaccine manufacturers will not allow the commercial participation of the private sector, “he added.

Priority will be given to health workers, the indigent, vulnerable groups, essential workers, police officers and soldiers, said Gálvez.

Authorities will also employ a geographic strategy for the distribution of the vaccine, giving priority to those most affected by the pandemic, such as Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao, he added.

The Philippine government is building a portfolio of COVID-19 vaccines from various drug makers, and says it is already negotiating with China’s Sinovac, Janssen, the pharmaceutical arm of Johnson & Johnson, and US drug maker Pfizer, among others, to a possible vaccine supply agreement.

“Our estimate is that we are getting 10, 15 or even 20 million [doses] from each of these vaccine manufacturers, [then] We can get our quota for this year, ”he said.

The Department of Finance (DOF) had said that the government would need at least P73.2 billion to purchase vaccines against the new coronavirus for 60 million Filipinos, hoping to achieve herd immunity. But since most vaccines require 2 doses, the target population can be cut in half.

The latest projected population of the country, as of the third quarter of this year, is 108.8 million, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Most of the financing for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines will come from the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank through low-cost, long-term loans, the DOF said.

Some 20,000 million pesetas will come from national sources such as the Landbank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines, as well as other controlled and state-owned companies and bilateral negotiations.

The Philippines signed an agreement with AstraZeneca on Friday to purchase 2 million potential coronavirus vaccines as part of a private sector initiative to boost the country’s fight against the disease.

Private companies such as San Miguel, Aboitiz, Ayala, JG Summit Holdings and Megaworld will pay for the vaccines, of which half will be donated to the government. The other half will be used to vaccinate private sector employees, Gálvez said.

As of Sunday, the Philippines has tallied 429,864 coronavirus cases, of which 8,373 deaths were related to the disease, 398, 624 are recoveries, while 22,867 are active infections.