KUALA LUMPUR – The Philippines will be expecting 30 million doses of India’s Novavax Inc Covid-19 vaccines by July as the country aims to inoculate more than 100 million people.
Reuters reported that the country previously signed one supply deal to acquire 2.6 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca.
It was also reported that the Philippines plans to buy 25 million doses of a vaccine from China’s Sinovac Biotech for delivery by March and aims to secure between four and 25 million doses of vaccines from Moderna and Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc.
“Thirty million dosages of the Indian-made Novavax vaccines are assured possibly with no cash advance. It will be available by July 2021,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr was quoted as saying in an interview with CNN Philippines.
He said the information came from Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine producer, and that the terms of the supply deal may be signed before the end of the year.
The institute reportedly entered a supply and licence agreement with Novavax Inc in August to develop and commercialise a Covid-19 vaccine candidate.
Talks with Moderna will begin next week, Locsin said.
The US Food and Drug Administration has granted the Moderna vaccine for emergency use.
With 459,789 infections and 8,947 deaths, the Philippines has the second-highest number of Covid-19 cases in Southeast Asia behind Indonesia. – The Vibes, December 21, 2020
