PH eyes to limit vaccines to 3 or 4 brands

MANILA – The Philippines is planning to reduce the number of coronavirus vaccine brands in its portfolio to a maximum of four, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Saturday.

DOH Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said the country does not need to acquire all vaccine brands.

“Hindi na po tayo bibili sa aking pagkakaintindi ng Sputnik vaccine. Alam naman natin na kailangan natin nang i-limit. Masyado nang marami tayong portfolio ng bakuna (Based on my understanding, we are no longer going to purchase Sputnik vaccines. We know that we need to limit. We have many vaccines in our portfolio),” she said at the Laging Handa briefing.

“There are some preferences so baka i-limit lang natin ngayon sa (we might limit to just) three or four vaccines in the future,” she added.

Cabotaje said the single-dose Sputnik Light, manufactured by Russia’s Gamaleya Institute, may be administered as first, second, or booster doses.

The country’s vaccine portfolio is composed of AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Sinovac, Moderna, Janssen, Sputnik V, Sputnik Light, and Sinopharm.

As of January 26, the Philippines has already administered 125,089,118 vaccine doses, according to the National Task Force Against Covid-19.

Of the total, 58,149,158 are fully vaccinated, including 7,391,735 individuals from the 12 to 17 age group.

Select sites will pilot the vaccination of lower-dose Pfizer jabs for the 5 to 11 age group on February 4 and 5.