(UPDATED) The Department of Health (DOH) and National Task Force Against Covid-19 have signed a supply agreement for 40 million doses of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccine from Pfizer Inc.
The government is also finalizing another agreement for 6.0 million doses of the single-dose vaccine from Janssen Pharmaceuticals (Johnson & Johnson).
In a statement Sunday, June 20, 2021, NTF chief implementer Carlito Galvez Jr. said the agreement with Pfizer was signed on Saturday, June 19. Delivery will be made “after eight weeks starting August” 2021.
“We are very happy to report that the government and the management of Pfizer have finally concluded our negotiations. (DOH) Secretary (Francisco III) Duque and I signed yesterday (June 19) the supply agreement for the biggest and most decisive deal we had for 2021,” Galvez announced.
The procurement of the 40 million doses will be financed through a multilateral arrangement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which will disburse the funds directly to Pfizer.
“Through this scheme, the Filipino people can be assured that our transactions on vaccine procurement will be transparent, as the funds will not pass through the hands of any government official or agency. Wala pong dumadaan na pera sa amin,” Galvez emphasized.
The Philippines has received over 2.4 million doses of the Pfizer mRNA vaccine that were donated through the Covax Facility, the initiative to ensure global vaccine equity.
The first Pfizer shipment, consisting of 193,050 doses, arrived on May 10, while the second arrived on June 10.
Authorities were verifying the actual volume delivered on June 10 as Unicef, which procures and delivers the Covax vaccines, said it delivered 2,279,160 doses while the NTF said the actual number of doses received was 2,276,820, or a discrepancy of 2,340 doses.
Read: Discrepancy in Pfizer vaccine deliveries noted
“Titingnan po natin kung bakit nagkakaroon ng mga discrepancies and differences. It might be due to the delivery process. Maaring ang nadeklara ay kung ano yung sinabi ng Unicef, pero pagdating dito - dahil ini-inspect pa natin - baka ‘yon din lang numero na ‘yon ang aning natanggap,” DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a virtual press conference Friday, June 18.
Supply
Based on the Covax website managed by Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, the Philippines has been allotted 7,056,210 doses, consisting of 4.584 million doses of AstraZeneca and 2,472,210 doses of Pfizer.
As of June 11, the Philippines has received 2.556 million doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford adenoviral vaccine.
Galvez said Covax is scheduled to deliver another 2.028 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine this month.
He also said Sinovac Biotech from China has confirmed that it will deliver another 1.5 million doses of the CoronaVac inactivated vaccine on June 24.
In June alone, Sinovac has delivered 3.5 million doses, 1.0 million on June 6, 1.0 million on June 10 and 1.5 million on June 17.
Galvez also said 250,000 doses of the Moderna mRNA vaccine, including those purchased by the private sector, are scheduled to arrive on June 27.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund will also deliver 150,000 doses of Sputnik V (component 2) vaccines within June.
“We also expect to receive the US donation of vaccines before the end of June,” Galvez added.
In July, Galvez said he expects delivery of 11.67 million doses, including 4.5 million doses of Sinovac, 1.0 million doses each of Moderna and Sputnik V vaccines, and 1.17 million doses of AstraZeneca that were purchased by the private sector.
Including the 40 million doses from Pfizer, the government and private sector have procured a total of 113 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines from five manufacturers.
Other suppliers are Sinovac with 26 million doses, RDIF with 10 million doses of Sputnik V, Moderna with 20 million doses and AstraZeneca with 17 million doses from AstraZeneca.
Vaccination
As of June 18, nearly six million individuals nationwide have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.
Citing data from the National Vaccine Operations Center, the NTF said first dose inoculations have reached 5,953,810 since the vaccinations began on March 1, 2021. Of this number, 2,096,901 have also received their second dose.
A total of 8,050,711 doses have been administered nationwide as of June 18, the NTF said.
The highest number of inoculations in a day was recorded at 322,929 on June 15. Galvez earlier said the target is to administer 500,000 doses a day.
Of the nearly six million first dose inoculations, 1,053,373 were administered to healthcare workers (A1), 1,939,599 to senior citizens (A2), 2,005,206 to persons with comorbidities (A3), and 452,600 to workers who need to go out (A4).
Vaccination of the A4 priority group began on June 7 in the NCR Plus 8, consisting of the National Capital Region, Metro Cebu, Metro Davao, and the provinces of Batangas, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Pampanga and Rizal.
Some local government units (LGUs) in the NCR, or Metro Manila, have also started inoculating priority group A5 (indigent population) based on the guidelines of the World Health Organization for Covax vaccinations. The NTF said 23,826 indigent individuals have received their first dose.
To achieve herd immunity against Covid-19, at least 70 percent of the Philippines' 108 million population must be fully vaccinated. On June 18, the fully vaccinated individuals comprised around 2.8 percent of this target. (Marites Villamor-Ilano / SunStar Philippines)