PH envoy: 30M vaccines to arrive from India in Sept, 8M next month

FILE PHOTO: A healthcare worker fills a syringe with a dose of Bharat Biotech’s Covid-19 vaccine called Covaxin, during the coronavirus disease vaccination campaign at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) hospital in New Delhi, India, January 16, 2021. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

MANILA, Philippines — Thirty million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from NovaVax is set to arrive in the country in September, said the Philippine ambassador to India.

The Philippine Ambassador to the Republic of India Ramon Bagatsing Jr. also said another eight million doses from Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin is scheduled to arrive next month.

“[There are] 30 million doses siguro mga September ito, ito yung tie up ng Serum [Institute of India] with the company NovaVax of Maryland USA, brand name will be CovaVax,” Bagatsing said in an interview over ABS-CBN’s TeleRadyo.

(There are 30 million doses maybe this September, this is the tie up of Serum with the company NovaVax of Maryland USA, brand name will be CovaVax.)

“Next month may mga eight million din doses siguro, ang pangalan niyan Covaxin,” he added.

(Next month maybe eight million doses, the brand name is Covaxin.)

Bagatsing explained that despite the worsening pandemic in India, its national government has guaranteed that the vaccines they are planning to export will not be compromised.

“So ngayon nagfast-track sila. Pinautang ng gobyerno itong dalawang company to double their production, para sa mga kababayan nila sa India and sa world,” said Bagatsing.

(Now they are fast-tracking. The government loaned money to these two companies to double their production, for their compatriots in India and the world.)

“So yung ating supply ay hindi naman maaapektuhan, they guaranteed me that,” he added.

(So our supply won’t be affected, they guaranteed me that.)

According to the country’s vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., the Philippines is expected to receive at least 13 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines of various brands in this second quarter of 2021.

As of April 25, the country’s total number of infections stands at 997,523 cases, with 77,075 currently active cases, 903,665 total recoveries and a death toll at 16,783.

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JPV