Duterte Administration Relentless in Procurement of COVID-19 Vaccines – Galvez

This illustrative studio photograph shows a miniature shopping cart with a syringe and vials that reads “Covid-19 Vaccine,” in Paris on January 8, 2021. (Photo by JOEL SAGET / AFP)

MANILA, Philippines – The head of implementation of the National Working Group against COVID-19 (NTF) and vaccine czar, Carlito Gálvez Jr., said Sunday that the Duterte administration is “relentless” in the procurement of COVID-vaccines. 19 for the Filipino people.

“Rest assured that the Duterte administration has been relentless in procuring these vaccines to ensure that the country receives a fair share of the doses,” Galvez said in a statement.

He also referred to the slow rollout of vaccination, saying the current supply is reserved for front-line doctors.

“Inoculation of medical workers must be done deliberately. Considering the crucial task they perform, their vaccination must be done in batches in light of the possible adverse effects and the impact on the staffing needs of health facilities, ”he said.

“When all of our frontline physicians and healthcare workers are vaccinated and our country already has sufficient vaccine supplies, we will significantly accelerate the pace of our vaccination program,” he said.

Vaccine Czar Sec. Carlito Galvez Jr. (Senate PRIB file photo)

Gálvez added that almost 90 percent of the vaccines available have already been implemented in the last two weeks.

“As much as we would like to carry out a large-scale vaccination program, we are, however, limited by the current limited supply of vaccines on the world market. And this is the same problem that most of the world’s nations face, ”he said.

Supply numbers

To date, the Philippines has purchased 600,000 doses of Sinovac Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine from China as a donation from the Chinese government.

Another million doses are expected to arrive on March 21.

Tl The Philippines also received 525,600 doses from the British Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. The first shipment, consisting of 487,400 doses, arrived on March 4, while the remaining 38,400 doses arrived on March 7.

Vaccines from India, Russia

Meanwhile, Gálvez reported that he visited India to deal directly with the Serum Institute of India to ensure the supply of vaccines both in the short and long term.

Another team is expected to fly to Russia to conduct an additional study on the Sputnik V vaccine produced by Gamaleya, he added.

He also responded to the accusation that the country has borrowed more than P10 billion pesos to support its vaccination program.

Gálvez, quoting Finance Secretary Carlos Domínguez III, said the government is working on a general budget of P82.5 billion for the national vaccination program, of which P62 billion in financing comes from development partners and the rest it is financed internally.

“We have obtained sufficient financing from abroad at this time, as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank approved separate loans this week to cover the entire P62 billion component that we plan to insure abroad. “, He said.

“All copies of the loan and grant agreements signed by the Finance Department are uploaded to the agency’s website and can be viewed by anyone who wishes to verify their veracity,” he added.

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