The Philippines and Novavax are now set to sign an agreement for 30 million shots of vaccine against COVID-19, according to Malacañang.
“Ito po ang update ‘no…Pipirma na rin bukas, Marso 10, ng supply agreement with Novavax – 30 million po iyan ‘no – at habang in progress naman po ang ating supply agreement with J&J,” said Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque.
Moreover, Roque also said that the Philippines has already signed a purchase order for 1 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine in addition to the supply agreement for 13 million doses of the Moderna vaccine.
The country has already acquired a total of 1,125,600 doses through COVAX Facility, including 600,000 Sinovacs and 525,600 AstraZeneca vaccines.
Meanwhile, the allocation of AstraZeneca vaccines from the COVAX Facility is only given to Priority A1 healthcare workers in the frontline facilities.
A1 includes health facilities at national and local, private and public; health professionals or non-professionals such as medical students, nursing aides, janitors; and hospitals, barangay health workers, and others.
In the “order of prioritization,” all healthcare workers in all Level III hospitals including COVID referral hospitals nationwide will be given priority.
Second to be prioritized are other dedicated COVID-19 referral COVID-19 hospitals in areas without Level III hospitals.
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PH to secure 30 million doses of Novavax COVID-19 vaccine
Third, senior citizen healthcare workers in other hospitals across the country are not included in the first two mentioned.
Also included are the remaining priority workers in A1 in NCR where the priority is senior health workers.
The dosing interval written for the Philippine EUA by AstraZeneca is four to 12 weeks to be counted from the date of the first dose.
Meanwhile, the Philippines and Indian firm Bharat Biotech are negotiating for the government to secure at least 8 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, according to Indian Ambassador to the Philippines Shambhu Kumaran on Wednesday.
Kumaran said the government is in talks with Bharat Biotech as it waits for its emergency use authorization (EUA) for Covaxin from the Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“There are ongoing conversations for a supply for Covaxin which can range anywhere from 8 million doses upwards. I don’t think we are in a position to be signing anything yet,” he said in an ANC interview.