PH to receive 2.2M of Pfizer jabs from COVAX on June 11

A vial and syringe are seen in front of a displayed Pfizer logo in this illustration taken January 11, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is expecting the biggest shipment of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines with 2.2 million doses from the COVAX facility on June 11, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said Tuesday.

In an online briefing, Galvez said these vaccines will be delivered directly to Metro Manila, Cebu, and Davao on the same day.

“Yung 2.2 million ay darating po ng June 11. Ang gusto ng Pfizer isa-diretso sa destination at wala yung tinatawag natin na double handling,” Galvez said. He, however, did not specify how many doses are allocated for each of the areas.

(The 2.2 million doses will arrive on June 11. Pfizer wants these vaccines directly delivered to the destination to prevent double handling.)

The upcoming deliveries of Pfizer jabs will still be allocated to health workers (A1), senior citizens (A2), and persons with comorbidities (A3), Galvez said.

The first batch of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines from the COVAX facility comprising 193,050 doses arrived last month.

More individuals may soon be vaccinated as the government prepares to start inoculating essential workers (A4) and indigent citizens (A5) this June.

However, the vaccine rollout for persons under these priority groups will be concentrated first in Metro Manila and eight other areas.

JPV