THE national government hopes to finally address the supply issues which slowed down the country’s mass inoculation as vaccine czar Carlito Galvez hinted at receiving about 30 million COVID-19 vaccine doses until August.
In a recorded public briefing, Galvez claims a significant chunk of the bulk staggered deliveries are those which the government has purchased from bio-pharmaceutical firms behind different brands of COVID-19 vaccines.
A total of 3.02 million doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccines will be coming from the United States through the COVAX Facility, while 1.1 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines from Japan will be arriving on Thursday.
Vaccines donated by the US and Japan will be allocated for those in the A2 (senior citizens) and A3 (persons with comorbidities) categories.
Galvez apologized for the delay of deliveries, which affected the vaccine rollout in the country, saying it was due to the restructuring of the global supply of vaccines.
As this developed, Food and Drug Administration Director-General Eric Domingo said the Philippines now has one vaccine brand that can be used on children, after it approved the amendment of Pfizer’s emergency use authorization (EUA).
The FDA earlier approved the use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for minors as young as 12 years old.
“All 12 years old and above, pinapayagan na po natin ito. Once mag-expand po ang ating vaccination program, we have at least 1 vaccine that can be used on children,” Domingo said.
So far, more than 2.8 million Filipinos have received 2 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, while over 8.8 million others have been jabbed with their first dose, according to data from the Department of Health.