Negotiations are underway for the procurement of more Covid-19 vaccines for next year, the National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 said.
Sec, Carlito Galvez, Jr. said the NTF, local government units, the private sector, and provincial governors are preparing initial arrangements on additional vaccine purchase.
Galvez said they are preparing various paperwork for the initial planned purchase of 20 million doses for the private sector and national government.
Galvez and AstraZeneca medical adviser, Dr. Jen Feliciano and Go Negosyo: A Dose of Hope project head Josephine Romero were at the airport when the 502,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine procured by the private sector arrived recently.
Eighty percent of the latest shipment will be allocated to economic frontliners through LGUs while 20 percent will go to the private sector.
The government is set to receive the remaining 70 percent of total secured vaccines until December.
He added the U.S.-based Moderna company might increase their deliveries to the Philippines, while the Covax Facility vowed to deliver the bulk of supplies.
Romero said private sector-procured vaccines assured more economic front-liners will get their protection against the disease while at work.
Galvez said the government is on track with its main goal of achieving population protection within this year.
He said the government has started implementing its recalibrated deployment strategy of Covid-19 jab that pushes a “more equitable distribution” of jabs in various provinces nationwide.
The approach allows the government to strike a balance among the number of unvaccinated individuals per region, targeted population for inoculation drive, and number of doses in the supply inventory. – PNA
April 18, 2024
