Johnson & Johnson can’t give vaccine delivery date to PH yet — envoy

FILE PHOTO: Vials labelled “COVID-19 Coronavirus Vaccine” and sryinge are seen in front of displayed Johnson&Johnson logo in this illustration taken, February 9, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

MANILA, Philippines — Although the Philippines already secured six million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, Manila’s top diplomat in the United States said it cannot give a date of delivery yet due to local demand.

Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Romualdez said Johnson & Johnson’s priority is to meet the vaccine demand in the US.

“They have committed already for us six million doses of the Johnson [& Johnson] pero hindi pa sila maka-commit pa kung kailan nila idedeliver dahil nga ang priority ay yung demand dito sa America,” Romualdez said in a televised briefing.

“I suppose understandable dahil gawa dito and they need to vaccinate 70 percent of Americans here in the United States,” he added.

Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine recently secured an emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The vaccine was found to be 66 percent effective in preventing moderate to severe COVID-19 cases in its global trial where 44,000 persons participated.

Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine is said to be widely used globally because it can be shipped and stored at normal refrigerator temperatures.

EDV