Vials with a sticker reading, “COVID-19 / Coronavirus vaccine / Injection only” and a medical syringe are seen in front of a displayed Johnson & Johnson logo in this illustration taken Oct. 31, 2020. (REUTERS)
MANILA, Philippines — Over three million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen, a single-shot COVID-19 vaccine that was donated by the United States, are expected to be delivered this month, Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., the country’s vaccine manager, said early Wednesday.
In a taped briefing with President Rodrigo Duterte late Tuesday night, Galvez said the donation by the US would be coursed through the global COVAX facility, which is co-led by the World Health Organization.
The doses will be allocated for senior citizens (those in the A2 priority group) and persons with comorbidities (those in the A3 priority group).
The government has agreed to allot at least 100,000 doses per region.
“Later on, the remaining 1.2 million doses, we will distribute based on population and those master listed in A2 and in A3,” Galvez said, speaking partly in Filipino.
All in all, the Philippines is expected to receive over 16 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines this month.
These include procured Sputnik V, Sinovac, Pfizer, and Moderna vaccines, as well as donated AstraZeneca shots from Japan and COVAX.
The Food and Drug Administration has granted an emergency use authorization to the Department of Health to accept the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines to be donated by Japan and the United States, respectively.
Johnson & Johnson earlier said its vaccine showed strong promise against the highly contagious Delta variant and other emerging strains and also provided durable protection against the infection more broadly.
Data showed that the durability of immune response for recipients of its vaccine lasted for at least eight months, Johnson & Johnson said.
It added that its vaccine was 85% effective and could also help prevent hospitalization and death.