PRC not selling Moderna jabs

MANILA – The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) is not selling its Moderna Covid-19 vaccines, contrary to the reports of some news outlets.

Ma. Carissa Coscolluela, PRC governor, clarified in a statement Monday, that their chair, Senator Richard Gordon, never announced they are selling vaccines.

“He stressed the need to act fast and vaccinate as many people as we can,” she stated.

What Gordon said, according to Coscolluela, was that the PRC procured Moderna vaccines and intends to vaccinate its members and donors who are willing to bear the cost of the vaccines, which was US$26.83 (about PHP1,300) per dose plus an administration fee that covers costs for syringes, gloves, personal protective equipment, meals and allowances of doctors and nurses, and other essential expenses related to the vaccination.

“The PRC is a humanitarian organization and is not in the business of selling any vaccines. It does not charge for anything that it got free,” Coscolluela emphasized.

Moderna, mainly manufactured in the US, cannot be sold in the market as it only carries an Emergency Use Authorization.

It also received authorization from health agencies in Canada, Israel, European Union, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Singapore, Qatar, Taiwan, Australia, Brunei, and the World Health Organization.

Initial data from Moderna’s Phase 2 study in the US showed that a single dose given as a booster to previously vaccinated individuals increased neutralizing antibody titer responses against SARS-CoV-2 and two variants of concern, B.1.351 (first identified in South Africa) and P.1 (first identified in Brazil), according to its website.