Delivery of 1M Sinovac vaccines to PH expected on 3rd week of March

The aircraft carrying China’s donation of 600,000 doses of Sinovac’s Covid-19 vaccine arrives in the Philippines Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021. (Photo courtesy of PCOO)

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is expecting to receive one million doses of Sinovac’s vaccines in the third week of March once it signs the purchase order with the Chinese firm, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said Wednesday.

“Binubuo na po namin ngayon yung tinatawag na [purchase order], supposed to be dapat ngayon po mapirmahan namin yung purchase order para at least makuha na namin sa third week ng March,” Galvez said in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel.

(We are crafting the purchase order, we’re supposed to sign the puchase order today so we can receive the vaccines in the third week of March.)

The one million doses of CoronaVac from Sinovac is part of the 25 million doses that the Philippines earlier secured.

The country received 600,000 doses of CoronaVac donated by the Chinese government, which were used to kickstart the Philippines’ vaccination program.

“Lahat po ng kontrata, meron pong indemnity agreement. Ang maganda po sa Sinovac, hindi sila masyadong mabusisi katulad ng western, ng Pfizer,” Galvez said when asked if the deal with Sinovac had an indemnification clause.

(All contracts have an indemnity agreement. But what’s good about Sinovac, they aren’t so fussy like the western, like Pfizer.)

The delivery of more than 100,000 doses of Pfizer’s vaccines had faced delays due to issues on the indemnity agreement.

At least 2,793 individuals have so far been vaccinated in the Philippines after the government rolled out the Covid-19 vaccine.

EDV