 |
| The acquired vaccines for Filipinos are already 92 million doses. (Photo from Inquirer) |
[Asia News Communication = Reporter Reakkana] MANILA — The Philippines has increased its Covid-19 vaccine orders to 178 million doses, enough for 92 million citizens, according to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez. PH Inquirer said that the government initially planned to vaccinate around 70 million adult Filipinos for its immunization drive and sought to procure 148 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines.
But now, the government is buying more shots, in case there would be delays, Dominguez said. “We have negotiated for 92 million because we have read in newspapers that there has been slippage, delays in delivery. There’s a delay in Europe, there’s a delay in the US. So to be safe, we have, we are negotiating more, more than what we need of 70 million,” Dominguez said in a meeting with the President.
Delays are expected in production, not because of any lapse on the part of the Philippines, which has the money and is ready to buy the shots, he said. The government will buy vaccines from AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Novavax, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and Sinovac, he said. Some of the vaccines need to be administered in two doses, while others are single-shot jabs.
