Are you getting scared about us not being able to get any type of COVID-19 vaccine? Think again! The Philippine-government is actually preparing to order or get 148 million COVID-19 shots for most of the country's population.
Carlito Galvez, Chief of the Philippines' strategy to fight COVID, a former general, said that the government is currently in the talks with various biopharmaceutical companies.
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In addition to that, Galvez said that they're all hoping to land or close a deal with a lot of companies, such as:
- Johnson & Johnson (J&J)
- Pfizer
- AstraZeneca
- Moderna
- Novavax
- Gamaleya Institue
- Sinovac Biotech
As per Galvez, they hope that they can close the deal this month. Moreover, he said that should this go according to plan, it'll be able to accommodate 50 to 70 million Filipinos by the end of 2021.
We hope to close the deals with these companies this month."
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148 Million COVID-19 Shots For Us
Galvez confidently said that we'll be able to purchase about 148 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. But, that would still be depending on the global supply of it.
Since ALL COUNTRIES are yearning and lining up for it, it's still in question.
We will be able to purchase at least 148 million doses from seven manufacturers. However, that will be dependent on global supply."
Subsidized COVID-19 Vaccine
If you thought that was good news, there's more!
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Back on the 3rd week of December, it was announced that the Philippines was eligible to get "subsidized COVID-19 vaccine from COVAX, the global initiative, ensuring access to the vaccine.
Back then, Dr. Jaime Montoya, Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Philippine Council for Health Research and Development Executive said that from the COVAX, we can get about 15%.
Then again, this will all be based off of the global supply.
Fifteen percent ng ating demand ay ibibigay ng COVAX facility… pero ito po ay laging ine-emphasize ay depende 'yan sa supply. Ang maa-assure lang nila definitely is 3 percent ng requirements natin ay ibibigay by next year."
In Translation: COVAX will provide about 15% of our demand... but, we always emphasize this, it will depend on the global supply. The only assurance they can give us would be around three (3) percent of our requirements, which will be submitted next year.
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Is 3% not enough? Well, it's said to be able to cover around 22 million Filipinos, and it's going to be "fully subsidized."
Nevertheless, it's already a good thing that the Philippines will be getting its hands on about 148 million COVID-19 shots.
Hopefully, it gets finalized this month so we can be sure about getting vaccinated.
What do you think of the efforts of our National Government is ensuring that we'll be vaccinated? Is this something we can consider as a positive ordeal?
Stay tuned! We'll give you updates about the vaccines on a regular basis – stick around and don't be as late as the news!
Source/s: CNN Philippines
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