MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has signed an agreement with the Serum Institute of India (SII) for the supply of 30 million doses of the Covovax coronavirus vaccine.
Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez, Jr. signed the term sheet on behalf of the government. The vaccines will be available starting the third quarter of 2021.
SII, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, has partnered with Novavax, a U.S.-based biotechnology company for the development and commercialization of its Covovax vaccine.
Covovax is in third-stage trials and expected to be approved for use by international regulators.
“The vaccine will be used to vaccinate 15 million vulnerable and poor Filipinos. The vaccine is stable at 2°C to 8°C, the standard temperature that is within the existing cold chain system in the Philippines, thus allowing its distribution to the remotest barangays,” said Dr. Luningning Villa, medical director of Faberco Life Sciences Inc., SII’s Philippine partner.
The price of the vaccine is expected to be finalized soon between the government and SII.
So far, the Philippines has secured 2.6 million doses of vaccine from British drugmaker AstraZeneca through a tripartite agreement with local private firms. The vaccines are expected to arrive in the second quarter of 2021.
The government is also in talks with other drugmakers such as Pfizer and Moderna of the United States, Sinovac Biotech and Sinopharm of China, and the Gamaleya Institute of Russia.