The Philippines is expected to sign today (Wednesday, March 10, 2021) the supply agreement for the procurement of 30 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine developed by American vaccine maker Novavax manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII).
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque announced this in an online Palace briefing on Tuesday.
“Pipirma na rin bukas, ika-10 ng Marso with Novavax, 30 milyon po ’yan,” Roque said.
Vaccine czar Carlito G. Galvez is currently in India for the expected signing of the supply deal for Novavax Covid-19 vaccine doses. Galvez will be in India until March 12.
The supply agreement is the final phase of the government’s vaccine procurement process.
The government earlier said Novavax vaccines from SII, are expected to start arriving in the country by May this year.
Aside from Novavax vaccines, Roque also said the government has also signed the supply agreement for 13 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines from American pharmaceutical firm Moderna, as well as the “purchase order” for 1 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine CoronaVac from Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac.
Roque said the signed supply agreement for 13 million doses of vaccines from Moderna is separate from the 7 million doses also eyed to be procured by the private sector also from the same firm.
As for the procurement of 1 million doses of Sinovac vaccines, this will also be on top of the 600,000 doses donated by China to the Philippine government on February 28. The Department of Health (DOH) earlier announced it is eyeing to use its savings for the procurement of additional Sinovac vaccines.
Meanwhile, Roque said the country’s supply deal with American pharmaceutical firm Johnson & Johnson is still “in progress.”
Sought how much will the government spent for the procurement of these Covid-19 vaccines, Roque said they are expecting to spend P700 million for the additional 1 million doses of Sinovac’s vaccine and $5 each for 70 percent of 17 million doses of vaccines from British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.
Out of the 17 million doses from AstraZeneca that the Philippines expects to receive through the Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access (Covax) facility, the government has so far received P525,000 doses.
The Philippines is eyeing to inoculate 50 million to 70 million people to cover the country’s adult population. The country’s vaccination program is expected to cost around P82.5 billion.
To raise the bulk of the amount, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III earlier said it is targeting about $1.3 billion (roughly P63 billion) in loan financing from multilateral lenders, which includes the Philippines’s contribution of $84 million to the Covax facility.
As for the remaining P12.5 billion, P10 billion will be sourced from funds allocated for the Covid-19 vaccination program under Republic Act (RA) 11494 or the Bayanihan To Recover As One Act (Bayanihan 2), while P2.5 billion already forms part of the budget of the Department of Health under the 2021 national budget.
World Health Organization (WHO) Philippine representative Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe, meanwhile, disclosed on Tuesday that at least 117,000 doses of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine from the Covax Facility may arrive in the country either in March or April.
Abeyasinghe also said that 4.5 million more doses of AstraZeneca vaccine are expected to arrive in the country before the end of May.
“We are looking at up to 4.5 million doses which will come during April and May,” Abeyasinghe said.
The WHO official reminded the government anew to follow the prioritization list.
On Monday, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines in the country are not yet enough for the 1.8 million health-care workers (HCWs).
“We have 1.8 million estimated health-care workers from hospitals down to the community across the different regions of the community kaya kulang pa po para makumpleto ang health workers natin [We still lack vaccines for them],” Vergeire said.
Vergeire also warned that the dependents of medical frontliners are not allowed to receive Covid-19 vaccine.
The dependents or family members , she said, cannot act as replacement for they are not part of the “priority list.”
If the prioritization list will not be followed, Vergeire stressed, the vaccine allocation from the Covax facility may be jeopardized.
With Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco
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