PH gets 10M vaccine doses, mostly AstraZeneca under COVAX: envoy

MANILA – The Philippines is set to receive 10 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine from the COVAX Facility, most of which are manufactured by Oxford-AstraZeneca, British Ambassador to Manila Daniel Pruce announced on Friday.

Pruce said Britain funded about 548 million pounds in the COVAX Advance Market Commitment, which would help distribute vaccines under the alliance to up to 92 developing countries, including the Philippines.

“The Facility expects doses will be available for delivery starting in the first quarter of 2021, perhaps as early as February, that pending the emergency use listing from the WHO (World Health Organization),” he said in a statement.

COVAX is co-led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and WHO.

It is aimed at accelerating the development and manufacture of Covid-19 vaccines and guaranteeing fair and equitable access across the world, especially for low- and middle-income economies.

Pruce said the UK remains one of Gavi’s largest donors.

“This is part of our commitment to supporting countries around the world to get equitable access to Covid vaccines as part of their response to the coronavirus pandemic,” he said.