Because of global vaccine supply and demand problems, the country’s Covid-19 inoculation drive is expected to make major progress by late 2021, according to vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr.
In a meeting with Cabinet officials and President Rodrigo Duterte, Galvez disclosed that majority of the doses would be distributed later this year.
“Ang main volume po ng ating mga ano mga procurement at saka ‘yong sa Covax ay darating po ng third quarter at saka fourth quarter. So ‘yong ating planning po sa ating vaccination, ang major rollout po talaga natin will be coming from the third quarter and fourth quarter,” he said.
Galvez added that the government expected 161 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to arrive this year.
Only 5.1 million doses are expected to arrive in the first quarter, Galvez said.
Through the global Covax facility, the country will obtain 3.5 million doses of Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines.
Six hundred thousand doses will come from China’s Sinovac.
Another one million doses of vaccines will be procured in March by the Department of Health.
“So kung makikita po natin… talagang manipis po tayo sa ano sa first quarter kasi ang total lang po niyan is 5.1 million. Kaya po talaga tayo po ay nagkakaroon ng negotiation with the British government and also with China, and also with India and also with Russia,” Galvez said.
“And then madadagdagan po ‘yong ano iyong sa atin sa second quarter, mayroon po tayo na more or less six million plus galing po sa Covax at mayroon din pong six million sa ating mga procurement at nagtototal po ‘yan ng 24.1 million na doses sa second quarter.”
The Philippine government has allocated P73.2 billion for vaccine procurement in its 2021 national budget. John Ezekiel J. Hirro