The first batch of Moderna vaccines procured by the national government and private sector from the United States will arrive on Sunday night, June 27, while an additional one million doses of Sinovac vaccines from China will be delivered on Monday, June 28, according to a task force overseeing the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) response.
The National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 said 249,600 doses of Moderna jabs will be fetched via a Singapore Airlines flight (flight number SQ918). The plane is estimated to arrive at Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Pasay City around 11 p.m.
The first tranche is composed of 150,000 doses bought by the national government and 99,600 doses purchased by the International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) owned by billionaire and ports mogul Enrique Razon Jr.
In total, the national government ordered a total of 20 million doses of Moderna jabs from the United States together with the private sector through a tripartite agreement. Around 13 million doses will go to the government while seven million doses will be allocated to the private sector.
The Moderna vaccines were supposed to arrive on June 21 but got delayed due to logistics problems and issues on the assigned cold chain facility where it will be stored.
Moderna is considered as a "sensitive" vaccine due to its cold storage requirement of -25 to -15 degrees centigrade. It is taken in two doses, 28 days apart and is only available to individuals 18 years old and above, according to the Department of Health (DOH). It has an overall vaccine efficiency of 91 percent in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 cases and 100 percent in preventing severe cases, with the maximum efficiency occuring at least 14 days after the second dose, the DOH added.
Meanwhile, one million doses of CoronaVac vaccines from Chinese manufacturer Sinovac Biotech will be fetched by a Cebu Pacific commercial flight (5J 671) on Monday morning. The plane is expected to land at NAIA Terminal 2 around 7:30 a.m.
It will be brought to a warehouse of the Pharmaserv Express, Inc. in Marikina City where it will be stored prior to distribution.
The NTF has yet to confirm where the vaccines would be deployed.
However, vaccine czar and NTF chief implementer Carlito Galvez Jr. had said that areas with rising COVID-19 cases, particularly in Mindanao and Visayas, will be prioritized in the current vaccine allocation since Metro Manila is seeing an improved situation with a decrease in the number of infections.
Once the deliveries are completed, the total vaccine supply will be increased to 17,455,470 doses.