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BY JEFFREY DAMICOG
The country is expected to receive its first batch of COVID-19 vaccines in June or July, COVID-19 Task Force implementation chief and vaccine czar Carlito Gálvez Jr. said on Friday.
Gálvez said in an interview on CNN Philippines that this will be possible once the government reaches an advance market commitment (AMC) with the manufacturer of the vaccine.
“We will have six to seven months to deliver the vaccine,” he said.
If an AMC is obtained this month, the vaccine czar said: “We can get it in June or July.”
According to the AMC, Gálvez said the government will make advance payments to the company of up to 10 to 50 percent of the cost of the vaccine.
For now, Galvez revealed that the government is looking to secure AMC this month with three vaccine manufacturers from the United States, the United Kingdom and China.
In December, he said, the government also hopes to get AMC with about three or four more drug companies.
Gálvez said the advance to pharmaceutical companies will be made bank-to-bank in January through the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which has been designated by the government as its purchasing agent and fund manager.
The vaccine czar said the government aims to vaccinate 25 million Filipinos in the first year and another 25 million in the second year.
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