Pfizer, Moderna vaccines coming as supply stabilizes —Romualdez

Pfizer and Moderna have told the Philippines that they will be able to deliver their COVID-19 vaccines to the country "not too far away from now," Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez said Sunday.

In a "Dobol B TV" interview, Romualdez expressed confidence that the Philippines will start receiving the vaccines manufactured by these American brands once the supply stabilizes.

He pointed out that by May this year, the US will be able to complete its supply of vaccines for all its citizens, which means that the succeeding productions will be for export already.

"Yan ang inaasahan natin. Pero ayaw nila mag-commit 100% na ganun ang mangyayari"(That's what we are expecting. But they don't want to commit 100% yet that that will happen), he said. 

Also Moderna at Pfizer are telling us "we'll be able to start delivering these doses to the Philippines not too far away from now," he added.

The US State Department earlier committed to the early delivery of either the Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines to the Philippines, with deliveries expected to arrive by May, according to vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr.

In addition to the 30 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna ordered by the Philippine government, another 5 million doses are expected to be delivered, he added.

Romualdez is hoping that at least 3 to 5 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccines would be delivered early to the Philippines.

Meanwhile, he also said that there is a big chance that the Philippines will receive huge doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines through the Covax facility.

The Covax facility is a globally-pooled vaccine procurement and distribution effort co-led by the World Health Organization, the Gavi vaccine alliance, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.

More than 800,000 Filipinos have already received a COVID-19 vaccine since the mass immunization program started on March 1, according to government data.

Senator Francis Pangilinan, however, appealed to the WHO to put the Philippines on top of the list of beneficiaries under its Covax facility to allow for the urgent delivery of COVID-19 vaccines in the country.

This, in order for the country to avoid crossing the "red line," a situation where the number of cases exceeds the healthcare capacity, as observed by the WHO itself. —LBG, GMA News