The country is set to receive COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX Facility within the first quarter of this year, government officials said on Wednesday night.
This was announced by Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III and Vaccine Czar Carlito Galvez Jr. in a joint statement.
PH targets 50M-70M Filipinos to be vaccinated in 2021 philippinetimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from philippinetimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Published December 17, 2020, 2:54 PM
President Duterte told Health Secretary Francisco Duque III to answer allegations that he was to blame for the delay in the country’s acquisition of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque made the statement after Senator Panfilo Lacson, citing Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. and Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez, revealed that it was Duque who “dropped the ball” on the Philippines’ chance to acquire 10 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine, reportedly set for delivery as early as next month.
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte holds a meeting with some members of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) at the Malago Clubhouse in Malacañang on April 8, 2020.
Duterte tells Duque: answer allegations on delay in Pfizer vaccine acquisition mb.com.ph - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from mb.com.ph Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Galvez details plan for vaccine distribution
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As Covid-19 vaccines are already being distributed in some countries, the Philippines is gearing up for its procurement and distribution.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque assures that we have already secured supplies from three manufacturers.
These are with Sinovac, Pfizer, and the Tripartite deal to secure 2.6 million shots of Astrazeneca s vaccine.
Roque, however, didn t reveal how many doses of vaccine from Sinovac and Pfizer have been pre-purchased or how much the country is spending for them due to non-disclosure agreements.
Meanwhile, Vaccine Czar Carlito Galvez laid out plans on which shots will be handed out to specific areas once these become available.