Some 5.6 million doses of vaccines for COVID-19 are set to arrive in the Philippines within the first quarter of this year, to jumpstart the mass inoculation of Filipinos amid the continuous rise of coronavirus cases  in the country, vaccine Czar Carlito Galvez said on Sunday.

Galvez,  who also heads the National Task Force on COVID-19 and vaccine czar, said the vaccines  will come from  Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca. The 5.6 million doses compose the first batch of the total of 9,407,400 doses that the Philippines stand to receive for the first and second quarters of 2021.

Galvez attributed the forthcoming delivery to the Philippines to the preparedness shown by the country in receiving the vaccines during a review of the committees from the World Health Organization and the United Nations.

“They have granted us two vaccine brands that have been authorized or very close to being authorized by WHO through an Emergency Use Listing (EUL), said Galvez, citing the content of the letter.

Galvez said some 117,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines would be delivered by mid-February this year while some 5,500,800 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines are expected to arrive by mid to late February this year.

But Galvez clarified: “I would like to emphasize that according to COVAX the number of doses and the projected arrival of the vaccines are all indicative since it all depends on the global supply.”

The Philippine Government through its Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has earlier granted both Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca Emergency Use Authorizations (EUA), which means that these vaccines can be safely administered once they become available. 

Galvez said they have been visiting cities in Metro Manila to monitor the ongoing preparations being carried out by local government units  and the private sector for the arrival of the vaccines, specifically the crafting of their respective local vaccine implementation plans.  He said they are also set to visit other areas across the country in the coming weeks.

“Based on our visits, we have seen that many LGUs and the private sector are now ready for the vaccine roll-out –  from their vaccination sites, to their cold storage equipment and facilities, to their personnel. We hope that these kinds of preparations will be replicated nationwide,” said Galvez.

“We assure the Filipino people that your government will secure the targeted 148 million doses of safe, effective, and free vaccines to inoculate 70 million people by 2021 and realize our nation’s goal of achieving herd immunity within this year,” he added.

Priority vaccine recipients, according to Galvez, are healthcare workers, medical-related personnel, and other frontliners.