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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Will the surge in India affect COVID-19 vaccine delivery to PH? Not really, says Galvez

Will the surge in India affect COVID-19 vaccine delivery to PH? Not really, says Galvez

Published May 2, 2021 02:01 pm

The delivery to the Philippines of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines from the Serum Institute of India will not be affected by the surge of cases in the South Asian country.

Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., vaccine czar and chief implementer of the National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19, made the assurance as India struggles to manage one of, if not the worst surge of cases around the world.

"This development will not disrupt the scheduled shipment as the Philippines has a separate supply chain," Galvez said in a statement released by the NTF on Sunday, May 2.

In March, Galvez flew to India to fast-track the delivery of 30 million doses of Covovax vaccine which was developed by the United States-based biotechnology company Novavax and being manufactured by the Serum Institute of India.

The initial delivery was slated in the third quarter of 2021 with the scheduled arrival of two million doses of Covovax vaccines in July.

But there were concerns that the recent spike in the number of COVID-19 cases in India might hamper the delivery of the much-needed jabs.

On May 1, India recorded for the first time more than 400,000 new cases in the past 24 hours, according to their authorities, with an additional 3,523 deaths.

It currently has 19.2 million COVID-19 cases, over 212,000 deaths, and 15.7 million recoveries, according to global tracker Our World in Data.

Media reports showed that the overwhelming surge forced families to burn down their dead loved ones in pyres in their parks and backyards while other bodies line up in long queues in crematoriums.

In the local scene, Galvez said the government is "working hard" to secure the vaccines and speed up the free inoculation program so the country can achieve herd immunity by the end of the year.

To achieve this, around 70 million Filipinos will have to be vaccinated, a goal that is achievable, according to Galvez.

Two months since the start of the inoculation program in March, more than 1.5 million individuals have already been vaccinated as the country's vaccine supply reaches 4,040,600 doses.

In the third quarter, Galvez said the government is aiming to inoculate 500,000 to one million individuals daily with the arrival of the bulk shipments of procured vaccines.

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