Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Monday that the Philippines could achieve herd immunity against COVID-19 within this year if there are enough global supplies of vaccines.
During the Senate of Committee of the Whole's inquiry on the government's vaccination program, Duque pointed out the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines and the inoculation of the Filipinos against the novel coronavirus are dependent on whether or not there are enough vaccines available to the Philippines.
"Kung kakayanin po ng manufacturers na ating na-enlist (If the manufacturers that we have enlisted would manage to produce enough vaccines), the best case scenario ay makakamit natin ang (is we will be able to achieve) herd immunity ngayong taon (this year)," the Duque told the senators.
"The vaccine deployment and vaccination, however, largely dependent on the global supply of vaccines available for the Philippines, the country's ability to access them, and on the application of manufacturers for emergency use authoritization or EUA," he later clarified.
Despite this, he said the government is "on track" with their target to immunize 50 to 70 million Filipinos this year, saying they are already in an "advanced stage of negotiation" with vaccine manufacturers Novavax, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnsons for the clinical trials and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in the country.
National Task Force against COVID-19 chief implementer and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said that the government's immunization program will begin in February this year using vaccines from seven pharmaceutical companies.
Galvez said the based on their current negotiations, the government will be able to procure 148 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in 2021, a bulk of which would come from the Novavax with 30 million to 40 million doses to be delivered to the country.
Galvez said they are working to acquire from Pfizer about 40 million doses; between 25 million to 30 million doses from Astrazeneca; and some 25 million doses each for Sinovac and Gamaleya.
"All negotiations are very successful and we are now on the final stages of supply agreement and we promise that all negotiation are very fair...to both parties," he maintained.
But Galvez said the country may have "some sort of a shortfall" on the second quarter of 2022 due to limitations in the vaccine supply.
More 80 percent of the global vaccine supply have been pre-procured by wealthier countries, he reiterated.
Duque said the government is aiming to have a "safe, equitable, and cost effective immunization to all Filipinos by 2023".
The World Health Organization said some 60 to 70 percent of the country's population should be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity and break the transmission of COVID-19.