The government plans to buy 148 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines this year at a cost of P82.5 billion, and close deals for about 100 million of those doses next week, the country’s vaccine czar Carlito Galvez told the Senate Monday.
In testimony before the Senate Committee of the Whole, Galvez said if negotiations are successful, the government can close deals with Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, and Pfizer, with one manufacturer he declined to identify delivering vaccines as early as February.
These would be added to the 30 million doses of Covovax from the Serum Institute of India, which can still be increased to 40 million, he said. Covovax is the Indian version of the vaccine developed by the US company Novovax.
The government, in coordination with the Chinese government, has gained a commitment of 25 million doses from Sinovac, he added.
Meanwhile, local government units and private companies have been able to pin down 13 million doses from AstraZeneca, which includes the first agreement for 2.5 million does. Another agreement could be signed with the company later in the week.
The Russian government has committed to shipping 25 million does of the Gamaleya vaccine, which could be deployed as early as February, Galvez said.
He said negotiations were still ongoing with the US company Moderna, which is allocating up to 20 million doses for the Philippines. Businessman Enrique Razon will help bring in the vaccine, Galvez added.
Galvez said the Philippines can expect 40 million doses from the Covax alliance, a World Health Organization initiative to ensure the supply of COVID-19 vaccines to developing countries.
Pfizer could add another 40 million doses, he said.
Galvez acknowledged that supply has been tight.
"The reality is that more than 80 percent of global supply has already been procured by rich countries," he said.
The government hopes to inoculate 50 million to 70 million Filipinos this year, he said.
The Palace on Monday said about 50,000 doses of China’s Sinovac vaccine will arrive by February, and another 3 million doses expected in the following months.
Palace spokesman Harry Roque said the priority areas for vaccination are the National Capital Region, the Cordillera Administration Region, Cebu City, Region XI and Region 4-A, areas with the highest cases of COVID-19.
The priority groups include frontline health workers, indigent senior citizens, the rest of the indigent population, and uniformed personnel.
Roque said the 50,000 vaccines are on top of the 15,000 doses used for Sinovac’s clinical trials in the Philippines.
He said there will be 950,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines coming in March, 1 million doses each in April and May, and 2 million doses in June.
Roque said Filipinos cannot choose which vaccine will be used during the immunization campaign, but said these would be administered free.
“Vaccination is not mandatory but those who intend to forego the opportunity will be required to sign a waiver,” he said.
“It’s true that we have the right to choose to protect our health but we should not be picky or choosy because there many Filipinos who need to be vaccinated,” he said.
He also emphasized that the Sinovac vaccine was safe and effective.
Roque said the results from late-stage clinical trials of the CoronaVac—Sinovac’s vaccine–in Turkey showed it was 91.25 percent effective. He added that neighboring countries such as Indonesia and Thailand have signed supply deals with Sinovac.
“There’s nothing spectacular about Sinovac other than it’s been proven safe and efficient,” Roque said.
The Palace spokesman said President Rodrigo Duterte is willing to be inoculated with a COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by China or Russia once it arrives in the country.
“The President is eager to get inoculated against the coronavirus using both vaccines made by China and Russia but he would have to choose only one,” Roque said.
Testifying at the same Senate hearing, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the country can achieve herd immunity against COVID-19 in 2021 if the supply of vaccines is sufficient.
He said this was “the best case scenario.”
Duque told the Senate that many aspects of the government’s vaccination plan “are already well underway,” and that the Department of Health (DOH) should be able to start vaccinations by February.
He noted that the government’s objective is to achieve safe, equitable and cost-effective immunization for all Filipinos by 2023 or earlier, if there are enough vaccines.
Based on the government’s current negotiations, Duque said the country is on track to immunize 50 million to 70 million Filipinos this year.
At the hearing, Duque said the DOH is working with the Philippine Information Agency to come up with a social media campaign to convince the public of the efficacy and safety of the COVID-19 vaccines.
It would also seek the help of medical groups in their massive information campaign, Duque also cited the importance of transparency on the inoculation program.
Senator Francis Pangilinan said aside from the logistics of acquiring the vaccines and implementing the vaccination program, he said the bulk of the work of the government involves the restoration of public confidence in the vaccination.
Pangilinan cited a Pulse Asia survey showing that nearly half or 47 percent of Filipinos do not want to get vaccinated.
He said the Senate hearings were a way to bring the conversation closer to the people to understand the importance of vaccination and to see that their leaders have a plan.
“Transparency in the process is the key if there is to be public trust in a vaccine rollout. Without public trust and support, a program of this magnitude will not succeed,” he said.
Also on Monday, Deputy Speaker and Mandaluyong Rep. Neptali Gonzales II said that while the country is waiting for the arrival of the vaccines, now is the right time for the Department of Health to launch a massive educational campaign drive on the COVID-19 vaccines.
The information campaign at this stage, he said is "to start enlightening the general public on the real facts and dispel whatever wrong information the public might have regarding the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines."
“All the billions of pesos appropriated by the government will simply go to waste if a substantial number of the people targeted by the vaccination program of the government will just refuse to be vaccinated, out of fear borne out of lack of information and understanding of the advantages of having it," Gonzales said.