More than 2.3M doses of Covid-19 vax arriving end-March: Galvez

MANILA – Some 2,379,200 doses of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine are set to arrive within the month of March, National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 chief implementer Carlito Galvez Jr. said on Monday.

In a virtual meeting with President Rodrigo Duturte, Galvez said additional 400,000 doses of Sinovac’s CoronaVac jabs donated by the Chinese-government will arrive on March 24.

Galvez added that 1 million doses of government-procured vaccines from Sinovac Biotech company are also scheduled to arrive on March 29.

The COVAX facility through the World Health Organization (WHO) will be sending 979,200 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines from March 24 to March 26, he added.

“So ang total doses po na darating ngayong (So, the total doses that will arrived this) first quarter is 2.793 million,” Galvez told the President.

The country kicked off its vaccination on March 1 following the arrival of 600,000 doses donated by the Chinese government.

On March 4, the government welcomed 487,200 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines through the COVAX facility followed by another set of 38,400 doses that arrived on March 7.

Galvez added that some 1,523 vaccination sites have been activated nationwide.

The Philippines is also slated to receive 5.5 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines in the second quarter of this year.

Part of which is 1.5 to 2 million doses of CoronaVac vaccines, 3 million doses produced by Gamaleya Research Institute, and 1 million doses will be coming from the COVAX facility.

As the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the emergency use authorization (EUA) of the Gamaleya Research Institute, Galvez said the government can now procure vaccines from them.

“Tomorrow, we will be having our negotiation and we are negotiating to acquire 2 to 3 million [doses of vaccines],” he added.

Meanwhile, the Philippines is set to receive more than 8.9 million doses of vaccine in May, Galvez said.

Part of this bulk is 2.6 million doses of vaccine procured under a tripartite agreement among the private sector, national government, and the AstraZeneca company.

The private companies, through the Go Negosyo alongside the government, are already preparing supply agreements for the deployment of private sector-procured AstraZeneca vaccines.

With the signing of the supply agreement, Galvez said some 194,000 doses of Moderna vaccine will also be delivered in May.

He added that around 11.5 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine will arrive in June, while 13.5 million will be delivered in July.

The government, he said, is expecting a steady supply of vaccines in the third and fourth quarters of this year.

It also targets to inoculate around 500,000 to 1 million individuals weekly between April and May.

So far, about 369,049 healthcare workers have been vaccinated with the first dose of Covid-19 vaccines.

Galvez said they are conducting a systematic approach of vaccinating health workers, considering the adverse effects of the vaccines may affect the healthcare services in the hospital.

As the cases continue to surge, Galvez noted the need for the healthcare personnel to man the Covid-19 referral hospitals and isolation facilities.