'Definitive' COVID-19 vaccine supply agreements done by mid-February — Galvez
MANILA, Philippines — The government expects to execute definitive agreements with pharmaceutical companies by mid-February for supplies of COVID-19 vaccine doses, the country’s vaccine czar said.
In a televised meeting Monday evening, Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., who handles vaccine procurement efforts, said the government has already signed term sheets with five drugmakers, which will assure the country of up to 108 million vaccine doses.
A term sheet is a non-binding agreement outlining terms and conditions of a potential agreement.
But the government has yet to execute definitive supply agreements with pharmaceutical firms it is in talks with.
“We are preparing also for definitive supply agreement and then also the finalization of contracts by mid of February,” Galvez said.
Galvez did not identify which firms the government has inked term sheets with. Last month, he said the Philippines was already in “advanced stages of negotiations” with AstraZeneca, Gamaleya, Johnson and Johnson, Novavax, Pfizer and Gamaleya.
The Philippines is aiming to secure a total of 146 to 148 million vaccine doses to inoculate 70 million people this year alone. The vaccine czar said this is on top of the some 40 million doses that would come from the World Health Organization-led COVAX facility.
Some 9.4 million doses of vaccines developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and AstraZeneca are expected to shipped in the first half. The country’s Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of both brands for emergency use.
By February, the Philippines would receive 117,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaxxine and at least 5.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca jab. The figures though are “indicative,” suggesting they may still change.
With more than half a million infections and over 10,000 deaths, the Philippines has the second worst outbreak in Southeast Asia. The country is targeting to start its immunization program this month.
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