Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said Thursday the Philippines would be assured to get 30 to 50 million COVID-19 vaccines from drugmakers in China, United Kingdom, and the United States within the month.
However, Galvez said he could not disclose the price of the COVID-19 vaccine due to a confidentiality disclosure agreement between the Philippines and the manufacturers.
“Iyong price, very negotiable, mababa iyong price na nakuha natin. Kapag nakuha natin iyong advance commitment by the end of November, mga dalawa o tatlong kumpanya, more or less, kaya natin makakuha ng 30 to 50 million COVID-19 vaccines,” Galvez said at a Palace briefing.
“Most likely within November 30 matatapos natin ‘yung tatlo [na manufacturers] na kinakausap natin. Nakausap na po natin ang embahada po ng Tsina at UK, and then nakapag-usap na po kami, two months ago pa, ng US. Once na magkaroon tayo ng advance market commitment ay kaagad na ilalatag nila ang kanilang manufacturing supply,” he added.
Galvez said that the Philippines is assured of 17 million of the 50 million COVID-19 vaccine supply from the COVAX facility.
“Ang earlier, possibly, iyong sa Russia, kung tama ang sinabi ng ating ambassador, first-quarter [ng 2021], puwede pong magkaroon na tayo ng bakuna,” Galvez said.
PH assured to get 30-50 million COVID-19 vaccines – Galvez
“Iyong sa COVAX naman po, earliest in May, June [2021], at mas maraming supply by the third and fourth quarter, even 2022,” added Galvez.
Pfizer Inc. announced on Wednesday that it completed the late-stage trial of its COVID-19 and final results showed 95% efficacy.
The drugmaker added it had the required two-months of safety data and would apply for emergency US authorization in the following days.
Meanwhile, Moderna Inc. on Monday said its vaccine was 94.5% effective based on the preliminary data.
The national government has earmarked P2.5 billion for COVID-19 vaccine procurement under the proposed 2021 national budget.
However, Galvez said the government would be supported by financing institutions such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, among other bilateral loans.
Earlier, Senator Pia Cayetano said that the storage and distribution cost of COVID-19 vaccines were not included in the proposed P212.7-billion budget for 2021.