There is a good chance that the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech in the United States will be used by the Philippines to prevent coronavirus disease, Malacañang said Tuesday.
According to Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, it is possible to approve it immediately for “emergency use in the Philippines.”
“Kapag na-approve na ng US FDA (Food and Drug Administration), European FDA, it is almost… it will not take time to approve the emergency use of this vaccine,” said Roque.
“But it is not automatic, kailangan pa rin ng some review iyan,” he added.
The Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez also confirmed that the Pfizer vaccine is the leading vaccine developed in America.
He also said that the country has been in contact with the pharmaceutical company for a long time to ensure vaccine supply.
“Ang Pfizer ang nangunguna diyan dahil mayroon silang country manager diyan na kausap ko lagi sa telepono, na sila nagfo-follow-up sa FDA natin. At once approved na tayo ng FDA then prepare na iyong supply for us,” said Romualdez.
Romualdez also seems to have a timeline when the Philippines will be vaccinated as soon as possible.
“Sa tingin ko by early of next year, sa first quarter magkakaroon na tayo. By tranches iyan,” said Romualdez.
Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine may be approved for emergency use: Palace
If the purchase continues, the Pfizer vaccine will go through a government-to-government transaction.
No downpayment is demanded from the Philippine government, according to Romualdez.
Pfizer recently announced that its COVID-19 vaccine is over 90 percent effective.
The government considers borrowing up to $9 billion (P433.3 billion) from the World Bank to fund the country’s purchase of a potential COVID-19 vaccine.
Carlito Galvez Jr., COVID-19 national task force chief, said on Monday that the Philippines would have to enter into “multilateral engagements with our credit partners,” such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.
The total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Philippines has reached 399,749 after the Department of Health recorded 1,347 additional cases this Tuesday.
Of that number, 30,169 are active cases or those who have not yet recovered from the disease.