By LLANESCA T. PANTI, GMA News
Published December 16, 2020 3:30pm Health Secretary Francisco Duque III has belied the claims of Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. that the Philippines’ bid to secure 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from American firm Pfizer was bungled by an unnamed Philippine official, saying that COVID-19 vaccine negotiations with Pfizer is still ongoing. “There is no such thing as dropping the ball,” Duque said, responding to Locsin’s comments that somebody dropped the ball on securing vaccine supply from Pfizer that was supposed to be shipped to the Philippines by January 2021. Further, Locsin said that these vaccines are bankrolled by the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.
2020-12-16 08:35:59 GMT2020-12-16 16:35:59(Beijing Time) Xinhua English
MANILA, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) The Department of Health (DOH) of the Philippines on Wednesday reported 1,156 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection, bringing the total number in the country to 452,988.
The DOH said 425 more patients recovered, raising the total number of recoveries to 419,282. The death toll climbed to 8,833 after 21 more patients died from the viral disease, the DOH added.
The capital Manila is seeing an increase in the number of COVID-19 transmissions, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said, noting that rising infections in 12 out of the 16 Metro Manila cities. We recognize that the beginning of the (holiday) surge in Metro Manila is already evident. We can see it now, Duque told a virtual media briefing on Wednesday.
endIndex:
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 16) The deal for the Philippines to procure 10 million doses of Pfizer vaccines is not yet scrapped despite the fact that someone dropped the ball, which put the agreement in peril, a Philippine envoy said.
Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Babe Romualdez on Wednesday made the clarification following the controversial tweet of Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. that they were able to secure millions of vaccine doses to arrive in the country by January 2021, but plans were foiled because someone dropped the ball.
Romualdez said the vaccine arrival will most likely be delayed by a few months because other nations were able to finalize deals earlier. But he said the deal for Pfizer vaccines is in progress, and so are procurement agreements for US-manufactured Moderna.
Duque dropped ball in Pfizer negotiations--Lacson – The Manila Times manilatimes.net - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from manilatimes.net Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
By DONA MAGSINO, GMA News
Published December 16, 2020 2:59pm The Philippine government should choose a COVID-19 vaccine based on science and not on political favors, Senator Risa Hontiveros said on Wednesday. This, after Malacanang said that the “target remains that Sinovac will be the first that we can use to vaccinate our people and it will be in the first quarter of next year. Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez has earlier said that the country is expected to ink a COVID-19 vaccine deal with Chinese firm Sinovac by first quarter of 2021 for 25 million doses. There are multiple and undeniable issues surrounding the vaccine offered by China, including transparency of data and results, emerging side effects as seen in Peru and even a company history of bribery, Hontiveros said in a statement.