IN NUMBERS: The Covid-19 vaccine supplies PH to the government, LGUs will obtain

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines will join other nations around the world in launching a mass vaccination of citizens against an ongoing pandemic and the emergence of new variants of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes the life-threatening respiratory disease. COVID-19.

National and local governments recently released details of their respective Covid-19 vaccine procurement projects that may come to fruition possibly in the first quarter of this year.

International pharmaceutical and biotech companies such as Britain’s AstraZeneca, India’s Covovax and China’s Sinovac Biotech have already signed agreements with the national government and local government units (LGUs). Negotiations for the vaccines developed by US pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna, China’s Sinopharm and Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute were still ongoing.

What seems to be clear for now, based on the pronouncements of the National Task Force (NTF) against the main implementer of Covid-19 and vaccine czar, Carlito Gálvez Jr. and presidential spokesman Harry Roque, is that the vaccine de Sinovac will start arriving in February and would be the only option for Filipinos until June.

READ: Explainer: Facts on 7 COVID-19 Vaccines the Philippines Can Receive

AstraZeneca

More than 30 provinces and cities have already set aside funds to buy Covid-19 vaccines. The cities of Makati, Quezon and Taguig in Metro Manila have announced the allocation of 1,000 million pesos each for the acquisition. And they all pledged to offer the vaccines to priority voters for free.

READ: LIST: Where to Get Free COVID-19 Vaccines in Metro Manila

Most have also announced the signing of agreements with the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.

Specifically, some LGUs allocated funds to purchase the following number of doses of AstraZeneca:

NCR

Makati City – 1,000,000 doses
Manila -City 800,000 doses
Quezon City – 750,000 doses
City of Valenzuela – 640,000 doses
Caloocan City – 600,000 doses
Pasig City – 400,000 doses
Las Piñas City – 300,000 doses
City of Muntinlupa – 100,000 doses
Navotas City – 100,000 doses

LUZON
Dagupan City – 160,000 doses
Ilocos Norte – 120,000 doses
Vigan City: 100,000 to 120,000 doses

VISAYAS

Iloilo City – 600,000 doses
Ormoc City – 270,000 doses

MINDANAO
Zamboanga City – 400,000 doses
City of Oroquieta – 120,000 doses

Other LGUs such as the city of Mandaluyong, the city of San Juan, the city of Taguig, the city of Baguio, the city of Bacolod and the city of Davao did not disclose the number of doses they have obtained from AstraZeneca due to the confidentiality agreement that signed with the company.

Private sector companies have also secured deals with the UK-based vaccine maker through a tripartite agreement with the national government.

First is the agreement signed between 30 private companies, the Philippine government and AstraZeneca for 2.6 million doses of vaccines. – half of which would go to its regular and contract employees, while the other half would go to front-line government doctors.

Second, there is the agreement between more than 200 companies, the national government and AstraZeneca for 3 million doses. – half of which for your workers, while the other would be donated to the national government.

Covovax

On Sunday, Gálvez said the government signed an agreement with the Serum Institute of India (SII) for the supply of 30 million doses of the Covovax vaccine.

He added that the number of doses is still expandable to 40 million.

Sinovac

Roque said on Monday that the national government has obtained 25 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine from Sinovac.

Roque also said that the first batch of the Sinovac vaccine or some 50,000 doses could arrive in the country next month.

COVAX installation

Gálvez also detailed that there will be 40 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine from the COVAX Plant, which the government plans to administer to 22 million Filipinos.

In December 2020, the Undersecretary of Health, María Rosario Vergeire, announced that the COVAX facility has guaranteed the Covid-19 vaccine for 20 percent of the country’s population.

The COVAX facility, also known as the Global Access Facility for Covid-19 Vaccines, is a global mechanism designed to ensure rapid, fair and equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines around the world.

It is co-chaired by Gavi, an international organization created to improve access to new and underused vaccines, together with the Coalition for Innovations in Epidemic Preparedness and the World Health Organization.

The Philippines joined the COVAX facility in July.

60 million additional doses

During the Senate Committee of the Whole hearing on January 11, Gálvez revealed a “potential” signature this week for the acquisition of 60 million additional doses of Covid-19 vaccines.

“[W]We cannot disclose all the others, but potentially we are signing the term sheet of more or less another 60 million within the week, ”said Gálvez.

Pfizer, Moderna, Gamaleya

As for vaccines from other drug manufacturers, government officials said negotiations are continuing.

Galvez said he could not yet reveal how many doses the government plans to purchase from Pfizer, but said it is a “very considerable amount.”

He also cited 25 million doses of the Russian Gamaleya or Sputnik V vaccine that the government hopes to obtain.

“We are still negotiating with Moderna, they are assigning us more or less 15 to 20 million doses. Enrique Razón’s private sector has already promised to help us bring Moderna to the Philippines, ”said the vaccine czar.

“So the private sector is helping so that we can immediately focus on the negotiation,” he added.

KGA

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