Concepcion: Private sector no longer required to donate COVID jabs to gov’t

Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion. (File photo from Philippine Daily Inquirer)

MANILA, Philippines — The private sector no longer needs to donate some of its procured doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to the government, presidential adviser for entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion said Tuesday.

Concepcion, citing the country’s vaccine manager Carlito Galvez Jr., said the government will already have sufficient vaccine doses hence the private sector need not to donate its doses anymore.

“Secretary Galvez, two or three weeks ago, told me and they’re making it official that there is no need for us to donate anymore. I asked him why, and he said the government will have sufficient doses,” Concepcion said in an interview over ABS-CBN News Channel.

“That’s good news but those doses anyway are arriving next year in February, so there’s really no impact at this point in time,” he added.

Concepcion said they initially only asked the government to delay their donation to early next year.

Still, Concepcion said the private sector is committed to help the so-called NCR Plus 8 comprising Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, Laguna, Pampanga, Batangas, Cebu, and Davao in its vaccine supply.

The private sector, local government units and the national government have signed a tripartite agreement for a total of 17 million doses of AstraZeneca jabs.

Some 2.5 million doses of these vaccines would arrive in July and August and would prompt the start of the private sector-led vaccination of its workers.

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