Philippines Boosts Hopes for Early Access to Vaccines in China and Russia

Photographer: Kevin Frayer / Getty Images

The Philippines hopes to begin administering coronavirus vaccines starting in the first quarter of next year, pinning its hopes on China and Russia, as their own procurement policies hamper early access efforts.

The best scenario is to start vaccines next trimester with injections from China. Sinovac Biotech Ltd. and Russia’s Sputnik V, said vaccine czar Carlito Gálvez in a virtual briefing. Sinovac has promised to ship vaccines to the Philippines at least 60 days after an agreement is signed, he said.

The Philippines, which has the second worst outbreak in Southeast Asia, lags behind neighbors like Indonesia and Thailand on the procurement of vaccines. Policies such as a ban on advance orders and a law requiring phase IV trials before the acquisition are limiting efforts to secure the shots, Gálvez said, adding that President Rodrigo Duterte could soon issue orders to remove obstacles.

The best and worst places to be in the era of coronavirus

“The president’s relationship with the leaders of Russia and China can be maximized,” Duterte businessman and adviser Joey Concepción said at the same briefing.

Some 2.6 million doses of AstraZeneca Plc. Private companies are expected to arrive in the Philippines as early as May, while in conversations with several others. Daily infections have declined for a third month in November, bringing the total cases to nearly 433,000 as of Tuesday.