The Department of Health (DOH) said it is now in coordination with vaccine manufacturers Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech for the possible procurement of new generation Covid-19 vaccines that specifically target the Omicron coronavirus variant.
“Last month nakapag-meeting na po ang DOH sa Moderna kung saan tayo po ay nakipag-ugnayan at humihingi na po sila ng term sheets. Inaayos na natin itong term sheets na ito para makapagsumite tayo sa kanila (the DOH had a meeting with Moderna and they are asking for term sheets. We are preparing these term sheets so that we can submit these to them),” said Vergeire.
“We also have continuing discussion with Pfizer...We already have a scheduled meeting with Pfizer manufacturers this coming week,” she added.
Vergeire said that the DOH has “long been exploring” acquiring Omicron-specific vaccines.
“Alam po at recognized ng gobyerno at ng DOH yang importansya ng mga bakunang dadating, new generation ang tawag nila, the bivalent vaccines (The government and the DOH know and recognize the importance of these new generation vaccines or the bivalent vaccines),” she said.
Last August, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has already authorized the use of Covid-19 bivalent vaccines made by both Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech.
As of Sept. 18, almost 72.9 million Filipinos have been fully-vaccinated against Covid-19. Around 18.9 million individuals have received their first booster shot, while at least 2.7 million people have received their second booster dose.