Pfizer has committed to give "as quickly as possible" the needed supplies of COVID-19 vaccines for the country's upcoming inoculation program.
"Pfizer is very keen to partner with the Philippines and ensure that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is available for use in the country," Pfizer Philippines country manager Andreas Riedel said at the resumption of the Senate Committee of the Whole's inquiry on the government's nationwide immunization program.
"We plan to make vaccine doses available in the Philippines as quickly as possible based on the terms of a fully-executed supply agreement and we are working closely with the national government to potentially close the supply agreement soon," he said.
Riedel said the pharmaceutical company is already in "advanced discussions" with authorities about the COVID-19 vaccine supply agreement.
The vaccine supply will be offered to the low-income countries like the Philippines "at a not-for-profit price," he added.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just granted Pfizer-BioNtech's application for an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the vaccines it developed.
During the Senate's Jan. 11 hearing, National Task Force Against COVID-19 chief and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez said they are eyeing to secure about 40 million doses of vaccines from Pfizer.
FDA Director-General Eric Domingo said Pfizer's vaccine is already being used by over five million people worldwide.
Based on initial data on its Phase 3 trials, the vaccine yielded an efficacy rate of 95 percent in the study population and 92 percent for all racial groups.