Vaccines against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are projected to be commercially available in pharmacies and private sector clinics nationwide by 2023, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. bared Friday, Jan. 21.
Right now, all the available vaccines in the country's stockpile are only allowed for emergency use and are not authorized for commercial use.
But Galvez said the national government is anticipating that manufacturers will soon apply for the commercialization of their vaccines to make it more accessible to more Filipinos.
“As a way forward, if the vaccines will have their CPR , then they will become available in botiques and clinics. In the United States, pharmacies are very accessible to all families especially in the provinces,” Galvez said during the second day of the rollout of “Resbakuna sa Botika” at the Qualimed Clinic in Brgy. Dasmarinas, Makati City.
“We will see it maybe 2023,” the chief implementer of the National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 added.
Once it is commercialized, Galvez said any individual can now readily buy anti-COVID shots in the pharmacies or private sector clinic but the national government will still provide free vaccines to the poor communities.
“We will still give free vaccines to the class C, D, and E. The class A and B can readily access them in pharmacies. If there will be a commercialization next year, even the local government units will surely access the vaccines because they have seen its benefits,” he said.
“But like in rubella, measles, and polio, we still have a portion that we give to the children and elderly, and in poor communities that cannot buy the vaccines,” he continued.
At present, the vaccine czar said the government is focused on buying the vaccines directly from the manufacturers and giving it for free to the Filipinos.
“When we talk to the manufacturers, they are more interested to sell their vaccines to the national government because the transaction is easier. They only talk to one party,” Galvez shared.
The government launched the "Resbakuna sa Botika" in seven pharmacies and private sector clinics in Metro Manila on Thursday and Friday in a bid to further reach out to more Filipinos so they can be protected against the deadly disease.
During the rollout of the program at the Qualimed clinic, nurse Karen Valdez administered the first dose to Mario Jazul, an economic frontliner (A4) who availed of his booster shot.
As of Thursday, around 422 individuals have been vaccinated in pharmacies and private sector clinics and Galvez expects that the number will increase as the NTF plans to expand the program to all branches in Metro Manila next week, and in other regions in the succeeding weeks.
Galvez said the program is a big boost to the country’s vaccination efforts since many medical frontliners in public hospitals were infected by COVID-19 due to the recent surge.
“Omicron really got many healthcare workers. We need additional manpower and pharmacies, as approved by the Department of Health, can now administer vaccines,” he said.
“Normally, we equate hesitancy with accessibility. But with the help of volunteer vaccinators from the pharmacies and private sector clinics, it is now easier for the people to access the vaccines,” he concluded.
So far, the country has 213,682,620 doses of vaccines, of which, 122,313,496 doses have been administered nationwide as of Jan. 20.
A total of 56,835,020 individuals have been fully vaccinated while 59,607,306 have received their first dose. Meanwhile, 5,871,170 have obtained their booster shots.