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Manila, Philippines – The Philippine government is working on agreements to secure a larger supply of doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from other pharmaceutical companies by next year, said the secretary of the country’s vaccine czar Carlito Gálvez Jr.
Galvez made the comment Saturday, refuting allegations that the government is “targeting only a few sources of vaccines.”
He highlighted that, in addition to AstraZeneca, the country is also negotiating with NovaVax from India, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna and Pfizer from the United States, Gamaleya from Russia and Sinovac from China.
“It is a portfolio. Basically ang mauuna sir is AstraZeneca ‘yung magiging contract natin’, he told President Rodrigo Duterte during a meeting with the Interagency Working Group for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) and health experts in Malacañang.
“Next is ang Novavax from Serum of India; the next is Pfizer; and then maybe Johnson & Johnson. We also have the discussion of the head of terms and also the supply contract and also with Moderna; and then followed by Gamaleya and also the Sinovac “.
Gálvez said the government could have contracts with Novavax Inc. and Pfizer Inc. in January. It also has an initial agreement for 20 million doses with Moderna.
“So overall, sir, if we get Novavax, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, J&J, and also Moderna, we could have about 80 million doses. And also recently, Gamaleya from Russia also negotiated for another 25 million, “he told Duterte.
Currently, Philippine authorities are asking Gamaleya for information on its third-phase clinical trial, Galvez said, hoping to close a deal with the Russian vaccine maker also before January.
The government is working to secure 20 million and 10 million doses for the government and the private sector, respectively.
Gálvez said that the government could start inoculating COVID-19 in May next year at the earliest, as it ensures substantial doses of vaccines destined for the government and the private sector.
The Philippine government previously said that front-line health workers will be the first priority in vaccine distribution, followed by the elderly, poor Filipinos and uniformed personnel.
It is looking to roll out its COVID-19 immunization program starting next year and administer it to at least 70 million Filipinos within three to five years.
