Galvez: 2.2M more Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine doses arriving before end of May

The Philippines will receive an additional 2.2 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine from the COVAX facility this month, vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said Thursday.

“‘Yung next na delivery ng ating Pfizer (Our next Pfizer delivery), more or less 2.2 million [doses], I was informed yesterday is before the end of the month,” he said during a symbolic vaccination ceremony at the Makati Medical Center.

Galvez added that authorities are now conducting a rehearsal for the transport of the Pfizer-BioNTech jab.

“Meron kaming arrangement with UNICEF na diretso na kaagad sa Davao, diretso na kaagad sa Cebu, diretso na sa mga areas na paglalagakan natin ng Pfizer para wala po tayong double handling,” he said.

(We have an arrangement with UNICEF for the vaccines to be brought straight to Davao, Cebu, and other areas to avoid double handling.)

“‘Wag po kayong mag-alala, since February pa kami nagre-rehearse dito sa Pfizer (Don’t worry, we’ve been rehearsing since February) and we don’t see any problem.”

The government held a simulation exercise in February in preparation for the arrival of Pfizer-BioNTech doses that was later delayed.

The long-awaited delivery, composed of 193,000 doses, arrived in the country on Monday night.

Over 2 million individuals in the Philippines have received the Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Sputnik V, and Pfizer-BioNTech jabs as of May 11, still far from the government’s target of inoculating 50 million to 70 million people this year.—AOL, GMA News