The Philippine government has secured some 13 million doses of vaccines for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from US-based drugmaker Moderna Inc., a top official disclosed on Monday, March 8.
Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., vaccine czar and chief implementer of the National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19), said the supply agreement was signed on March 8 and the vaccines are "expected to arrive in the country by end of May or early June" this year.
Meanwhile, a separate tripartite agreement between the national government, private sector, and Moderna is also being ironed out for the shipment of an additional seven million doses of its vaccines.
In total, the government is eyeing to procure 20 million doses of vaccines from the American pharmaceutical company.
Last Saturday, Moderna Inc. announced that it will work with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) so it can secure an emergency use authorization (EUA) in the country.
"The COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna is not currently approved for use in the Philippines, and the Company will work with regulators to pursue necessary approvals prior to distribution," it said in a statement.
So far, the FDA has given EUA to three brands of COVID-19 vaccines namely Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Sinovac.
The Moderna vaccine is shown to protect an individual from acquiring the coronavirus by approximately 92 percent, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Galvez said the delivery of Moderna vaccines may result in the further easing up of community quarantine restrictions to ensure the continuous economic recovery.
He cited President Duterte's promise to open up the economy once the country starts receiving a steady supply of at least two million doses of vaccines from various manufacturers.
At present, the country has a total available supply of 1,125,600 vaccines including 600,000 doses from China's Sinovac Biotech and 525,600 vials from British-Swede drugmaker AstraZeneca.
A total of 54,500 Astrazeneca vaccines and 317,350 Sinovac vaccines have already been deployed to 1,500 hospitals nationwide as of March 8, said Galvez.