The second-generation Covid-19 vaccines or bivalent vaccines that work against the Omicron variant would be made available in the country by the end of December, the Department of Health (DOH) said.
DOH Officer-in-Charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said during a press briefing that they are still negotiating with vaccine manufacturers Moderna and Pfizer regarding the purchase of the bivalent vaccines.
“Until now, I think yung bivalent vaccines tuloy tuloy ang ating negotiation. We already have several meetings with Moderna [manufacturer] kung saan we have already submitted our term sheets,” Vergeire said.
“Meron din tayong hinahandang pagpupulong with Pfizer [manufacturer] naman kaya lang we are still finalizing our confidentiality disclosure agreement,” she said.
“Now with these two, we are estimating na ang earliest na magkaroon tayo hopefully ay by the end of the December or first quarter of 2023 kasi kailangan pa to go through the different clearances for regulation itong mga bakunang ito,” she added.
Moreover, Vergeire mentioned that Moderna has filed its complete dossier or vaccine documents with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
— Ronald Espartinez