A man wearing a face mask as protection against the coronavirus disease walks past a mural dedicated to frontline workers, in Manila, Philippines, on Monday (Jan 11, 2021). - Reuters
MANILA Jan 11, 2021 (AFP/ Xinhua): The Philippines has secured 25 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine from Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac, and an additional 30 million doses from the Serum Institute of India (SII), officials announced on Monday, as the country braces for a surge in infections after a huge religious event.
This is only the second vaccine deal signed by the national government, which has faced growing criticism for its slowness in procuring jabs for the archipelago where nearly half a million infections have been recorded.
The Philippines has logged a total number of 489,736 confirmed cases of Covid-19 on MOnday (Jan 11) with the report of 2,052 new daily infections, the highest since Dec 18.
The Department of Health (DOH) said in its daily bulletin that the death toll climbed to 9,416 after 11 more patients died from the coronavirus epidemic. It added that 10 more patients recovered, raising the total number of recoveries to 458,206.
Philippines now hopes to secure 148 million doses this year from seven companies -- enough for around 70 percent of its population. But the government has warned it will depend on global supply.
In an agreement with the Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine maker, the Philippines will buy 30 million doses of the jab developed by Novavax, the government's vaccine task force said in a statement.
The price has not been finalised but the vaccine will be available from the third quarter.
The Novavax vaccine is in late-stage human trials in the United States, Mexico and Britain and is "expected to be approved for use by international regulators", the statement said.
Previously, the Philippines signed a deal with AstraZeneca for 2.6 million doses of its vaccine developed with Oxford University. The government hopes to secure another 30 million from the company using public and private funding.
No vaccine has been approved by the country's Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is required before it can be rolled out across the country of 110 million people.
Three drug makers -- Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Russia's Gamaleya -- have applied for emergency use authorisation.
Duterte sparked outcry last month after he revealed that members of his security team had been given a vaccine made by China's Sinopharm.
Health authorities are warning of a surge in infections in the coming weeks after the Christmas holidays and a massive religious gathering on Saturday.
Several hundred thousand Catholics ignored official pleas to stay home and instead flocked to a church for a glimpse of a centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ believed to have miraculous healing powers.
Authorities said it could be a super-spreader event and urged participants to self-isolate.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque said Sinovac is expected to deliver an initial batch of 50,000 doses by February. The rest will be delivered in batches until December this year, he added.
"Based on our current negotiations, we are on track to provide the immunization services to 50 to 70 million Filipinos, provided that the global supply of vaccines are sustained or even increased within this year," Duque told a Senate hearing.
Coronavirus vaccine czar Carlito Galvez said the Philippines signed a term sheet with the SII to secure 30 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine Covovax.
"We locked in 30 million (doses), and it will be expandable to the local government units (LGUs)," Galvez said.
Galvez said the Covovax vaccine is available starting the third quarter of this year.
Galvez said the vaccine rollout against Covid-19 in the Philippines could start as early as the first quarter of 2021, but the bulk of the supply will be available in the latter part of the year.
"The main bulk of the vaccines that will be rolled out will be at the third and fourth quarter of this year," Galvez said.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director General Enrique Domingo told the lawmakers that the FDA will release its decision on the emergency use authorization (EUA) of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine by Tuesday or Wednesday.
"We are finalising the EUA by Pfizer, and it will be out in one or two days," he said during the Senate hearing.
In the meantime, several LGUs have closed deals to secure hundreds of thousands of doses of vaccine for their constituents as the government gears up for the Covid-19 vaccine rollout.
The initiative is similar to the tripartite agreement signed between the national government, private sector, and pharmaceutical companies in November last year when Philippine private companies signed a deal for 2.6 million shots of a Covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca. It was the Philippines' first supply deal for a coronavirus vaccine.
With the vaccines' limited supply and very high demand, Galvez has said the Philippines needs a united strategy to obtain its share of the vaccines.
"This is what the tripartite agreements aim to achieve," he said, adding the scheme will enable the national government to allocate resources for LGUs with no financial capability to purchase vaccines.
The Philippines is in talks with at least seven vaccine makers to procure 148 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines in 2021. - AFP/Xinhua
