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At least 30 million doses of the Covid-19 Novavax vaccine are expected to arrive in the country in the second half of the year.
The main executor of the government’s national policy on Covid-19, Carlito G. Galvez, said he signed the supply agreement with the vaccine’s maker, Serum Institute of India, during his trip to India last week.
“Most likely it will arrive in the third or fourth quarter of the year,” said Gálvez.
He said they are now waiting for Novavax or its distributor to obtain an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) so that its Covid-19 vaccine can be used locally once it arrives.
The vaccine czar pointed out that they are still negotiating for the private sector to buy the 7 million doses of Novavax vaccines through the government.
The government will use the US $ 500 million loan from the World Bank and the US $ 400 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to pay for the Covid-19 vaccine it will buy from Novavax and other vaccine manufacturers.
The million doses of vaccine that it will buy from the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech will be paid for by the Department of Health (DOH).
Sinovac vaccines worth P700 million are expected to arrive next week.
Gálvez explained that this week they will make an initial payment to Sinovac, worth 15 percent of the price of the vaccine.
He said the government will pay the remaining 85 percent once the vaccine shipment arrives.
The government aims to use the additional 1 million from the Sinovac vaccine to complete the immunization of 1.7 million medical workers.
