The global vaccine-sharing platform Covax Facility has expressed its commitment to donate bivalent Covid-19 vaccines to the Philippines with the initial batch expected to arrive in March, the Department of Health (DOH) said.
DOH Officer-in-Charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said that the Covax Facility has committed to donate at least one million bivalent Covid-19 vaccines.
“Just last week, we have finalized the commitment of Covax to donate bivalent vaccines sa ating bansa (to our country),” said Vergeire in a press briefing on Tuesday, Jan. 31.
“So kapag nagpush through talaga yan (when that really pushes through), by the end of March, hopefully, we expect the initial doses to arrive,” she added.
A certain country has also expressed its willingness to donate bivalent vaccines to the Philippines, said Vergeire.
“Meron din po tayong iba't-ibang bansa na nago-offer sa atin ng donations that we are now currently coordinating. Meron tayong isa na nag confirm na ng kanilang commitment at ito po ay inaayos nalang natin ang delivery date nila (We also have other countries that are offering us donations and we are currently coordinating with them. We have one that has already confirmed its commitment and we are just fixing the delivery date),” said Vergeire.
Vergeire did not name the country as they are still in the process of finalizing the donation arrangements.
“We cannot disclose yet kasi hanggang sa hindi talaga final yung negosasyon (until the negotiations are final),” she said.
“Kasi baka mamaya magkaroon tayo ng issue (Because we might later encounter an issue) in terms of the country donating. Pag napirmahan na natin yung ating agreement (When we have signed the agreement), we will be informing everyone,” she added.
Aside from vaccine donations, Vergeire said that the DOH is still in close coordination with vaccine makers to procure the said type of Covid-19 vaccine.
“At the same time, in parallel, we are trying to explore how we can be able to procure and have this faster procurement para naman sa mga bakuna (of vaccines) to supplement these donations,” she said.
The DOH previously bared that they are coordinating with Pfizer and Moderna.
Once the bivalent vaccines become available, the DOH said that these would be given first to identified priority sectors.
In December 2022, Vergeire said that the DOH will initially buy a “minimal number” of bivalent Covid-19 vaccines.
Previously, the DOH explained that the bivalent type of Covid-19 vaccine was designed to target the Omicron variant and its subvariants.