MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has ordered an additional 5-million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from the US company Moderna, according to vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. on Tuesday.
Galvez said that the additional doses were in addition to the 20 million Moderna vaccine doses that the country has already secured.
“Most likely, Moderna will add some deliveries by the second quarter and we also increased the order of Moderna to another five million out of 20 million that we have ordered already,” Galvez said during an online meeting of the House committee on health.
Galvez also said that Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Romualdez told him that the US State Department has promised that either Johnson and Johnson, Pfizer, or Moderna will have vaccines in the Philippines by May.
Earlier, the Philippine government and the private sector, led by business tycoon Enrique Razon, signed a tripartite agreement with Moderna to secure 20 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccines.
Under the tripartite agreement, the Philippine government secured 13 million doses of the Moderna vaccines while the private sector ordered 7 million doses for its workers.
READ: PH gov’t, private sector sign deal for 20 million doses of Moderna vaccines