A group of Filipino-Chinese businessmen plans to order vaccines against COVID-19 of Sinovac, which they will allegedly give away for free to their employees and their families.
The Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. (FFCCCII) plans to order up to half a million doses of the Sinovac vaccine.
According to Francis Chua, former leader of FFCCCII, they talked to various vaccine manufacturers, but it appears that China-based firm Sinovac will be the first to place an order.
It will cost P325 million for the order because each dose of the vaccine costs P650 each.
Meanwhile, San Miguel Corp. will spend almost P1 billion. (SMC) to vaccinate its 70,000 workers.
The company has formed a “Safe All” task force to get vaccines from various manufacturers.
According to SMC President Ramon Ang, vaccination is weak in its goal of ensuring that workers are safe and healthy.
Last month, Teresita Ang See, president of the Philippine Association of Chinese Studies, revealed that up to 100 thousand Chinese in the Philippines, mostly POGO workers, have been vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine.
Some Filipino-Chinese business groups plan to buy Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines for workers
It was found out that the vaccination of POGO workers in the Philippines started in November in a single batch of 200,000 doses.
Ang See stressed that the vaccine against COVID-19 that was injected into Chinese POGO workers as well as members of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) came from legitimate or official channels.
Early this month, some private firms have announced their readiness to purchase the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Novavax vaccine from India.
According to Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion, more than 1,000 people attended the virtual meeting of those interested in ordering the vaccine.
Each dose of the vaccine is P1,000 cheaper than the reported P1,700 Moderna.
There is no commitment to getting the vaccine yet but according to Concepcion, it may be available in the 3rd quarter of 2021.
Concepcion’s group first ordered two batches of AstraZeneca vaccines to be set aside for businesses that want to vaccinate their workers against COVID-19.
Concepcion, on the other hand, assured that the arrival of the previously ordered AstraZeneca vaccine will not be delayed despite the company’s future problems in Europe.