Galvez hoping to finalize J&J COVID-19 vaccine supply deal soon

Negotiations to secure around five to 10 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson could be finalized soon, Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said Thursday.

“We will probably secure it by the end of this month,” Galvez, the government's vaccine czar, said at a Palace press briefing.

He did not give additional details.

The Philippines’ Food and Drug Administration has already approved J&J’s single-shot vaccine for emergency use.

The approval came amid reports that some people in the US developed rare blood clots after receiving the jab.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA), however, said on Tuesday the benefits of the vaccine still outweighed the risks.

The EMA described those clots as a “very rare” side effect of the vaccine. — BM, GMA News