PH orders 10 million doses more of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine

Test tubes are seen in front of a displayed Sinovac logo in this illustration taken, May 21, 2021. (File photo from REUTERS)

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government has bought 10 million more doses of CoronaVac, the COVID-19 vaccine made by China-based Sinovac BioTech, to ensure a steady supply, Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., the national vaccine manager, said during the taped weekly briefing with President Rodrigo Duterte that aired late Tuesday.

According to Galvez, the government has signed a purchase order for the CoronaVac doses, which it may be able to buy at a lower price.

The government decided to buy more since it has already received the 26 million doses it earlier ordered from the Chinese firm, he added.

“So that we can have a steady supply, we ordered 10 million more Sinovac vaccines. This is good because we got it at a lower price,” Galvez said, speaking partly in Filipino.

The government has also negotiated with US drugmaker Pfizer-BioNTech to deliver over five million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine next month. It has also asked Moderna to give about three to four million doses of its vaccine.

Galvez said that the government was also eyeing to buy about two million doses of Sputnik Light, Russia’s single-shot COVID-19 vaccine, which was recently given a green light for emergency use in the Philippines by the Food and Drug Administration.

ATM